When Sawyer meets The One
by iloveDr.SpencerReid
Summary: After searching for the right girl, Sawyer finally finds her when she moves in next to him. Will things work out the way he wants them to, or will one of his friends snatch her up before he gets the chance to tell her how he feels? Rated T for future language. Characters: Sawyer Hartman, OC, and appearances by Sawyer's YouTuber buddies. R&R. POV changes between Sawyer and OC.
1. Are You Sure About This?

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm new to this whole fanfic thing. I've entertained writing this one before. It was originally a dream I had after watching A LOT of YouTube videos, and I'm just expanding on it. So yeah, please read and review.**

* * *

"Kaya, are you sure you want to do this?" She asked. I just rolled my eyes. She's a pain, but she's my mom.

"Yes mom. I want to do this… I need to get out of this boring state and go somewhere…" I looked for a suitable word to describe what I was trying to say. "Exciting. Somewhere different." _And somewhere far, far away from here._ I added in my head. My mom just looked at me, probably thinking of something to say to get me to stay here.

"But you won't know anyone there. You'll be all alone. Your brothers won't be there. They'll miss you a lot you know." She said, but I highly doubted that my brothers would miss me

"Mom, I'll be fine. I made you a Skype so we can stay in touch. I'll tell you about my days every other day. I'll text you, dad, Ashton, and Alex every day. We can even have group chats so we can talk about things as a family." I told her, hoping that by me saying that she would let this whole thing go.

"Okay sweetie. But promise me you'll call me if anything happens and you need me to come. I'll get on the first flight to LA." She told me.

"Mom, I know. Believe me I know. And don't worry. Please." I told her. She gets really worried about me, which is nice, but can get really annoying really quickly.

"Okay… Get some rest. You're going to have a long day tomorrow." She said.

I went upstairs to my room and changed into my pajamas. I went to bed feeling more confused than ever. I wanted, and needed, to go. Seeing my mom worry about me so much, as annoying as it was, made me not want to go. But I have to go. I can't live with my mother or in the same state for the rest of my life. I need to get out and experience new things. That's why I'm driving across the country to my new apartment in LA. I reached over to my clock and set my alarm for 4:30 am. Just so I make sure I'm up in time to go get the U-Haul in the morning. I looked around my room and at all of the boxes stacked on top of one another and my rolled up posters placed on top of the boxes.

_For all of the trouble I've gone through to make this move possible, this better pay off and work out._ I thought to myself and went to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: It's short, I know. But this was meant to be a short entry. I promise future chapters will be longer. Please review and come back for the next chapter. Thank you for reading this so far. 3 Katy**


	2. Road Trip

**A/N: Kaya's POV**

* * *

I woke up the next day to my alarm clock beeping. I reached over and turned it off. I got out of bed and walked over to my suitcase and pulled out a shirt and a pair of shorts and put them on. I tossed my pajamas into my suitcase and zipped it up and took it with me downstairs. I put it in the living room and walked into the kitchen. I grabbed a coffee mug out of the cupboard and set it on the drip tray of the Keurig. I put in a coffee pod and pressed brew. I went back up stairs and brought down my other suitcases. I put them down next to the other one and went back into the kitchen and prepared my coffee. I threw the coffee pod away and sat down on one of the sofas in the living room, flipping through a magazine and sipping my coffee.

A little but later my brother Alex came down the stairs. "What are you doing up so early?" I asked him as he walked over and sat next to me on the sofa.

"I smelled the coffee." He said, pointing to my now empty mug sitting on the end table. He looked at me with a slightly puzzled look on his face.

"What?"I asked and turned the page.

"Can you even drive a truck?" He asked. I shrugged.

"It can't be that hard. I've driven dads SUV. I'm pretty sure I can handle a small U-Haul." I told him.

"How will you get your car there?" he asked. That was a good question. I hadn't thought about that, and I definitely didn't trust myself with putting my car on a trailer hooked onto the back of the U-Haul. I looked at Alex and shrugged.

"I guess mom and dad can come with me. Mom can ride with me in the truck and dad can drive my car." I said. "Why?"

"No reason…" He said. "Hey, maybe Ash and I can ride with dad so we can all help you with your stuff and see your new place. I mean, you do have a lot of stuff…" Alex said enthusiastically.

"Yeah. That would be awesome." I said smiling at him. He smiled back.

"I'm going to go get dressed and get everyone up." He said and blasted up the stairs. I got up from the sofa and put my mug in the sink. I walked back up to my room and grabbed all my posters and put them on the bed. At that time my brothers and dad walked into my room and helped me carry my boxes down stairs to the living room.

"When are you going to get the U-Haul?" my dad asked as he set the box he was carrying down onto the floor.

"In about an hour or so." I said and he nodded. "Did Alex tell you about our plan?"

"Yeah, he practically came bouncing into our room." my dad said, chuckling. We went back upstairs to get the rest of my boxes.

"Do you want me to grab your posters for you Kaya?" My mom asked me.

"Yeah, thanks mom." I said. A few minutes later all of my stuff from my room was in the living room. I went into the basement to grab the remainder of my things. When I walked back upstairs and set the stuff down, I turned to my mom. "Can you come with me to the U-Haul place?" I asked her. She nodded and I grabbed my keys out of the bowl on the coffee table.

Forty-five minutes later, I backed into the driveway and we started loading up the U-Haul. When we were done we went back inside to get some snacks and use the bathroom. While I waited for my mom, I looked at a picture on the fridge. It was from our trip to the Bahamas last year. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and looked over at my mom.

"You want me to make you a copy of this and send it to you?" She asked me. I nodded.

"Yes please." I said and we went out to the U-Haul. When I got in I put the address of my new apartment into the map app on my iPhone and we were off. "I was thinking in Illinois we could switch so if you want to go back to sleep you can." I told my mom. And she did just that.

-Illinois-

"Mom, we're at a rest stop." I said, nudging her lightly. My dad parked next to me. I got out and walked over to the driver's side. My dad rolled the window down. "I was thinking that in Texas we could find a truck stop or cheap motel or something to get some rest." I told him. I looked into the car and saw Ashton and Alex asleep. "You're driving the whole way?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"No. When we get to Texas, Ashton will do the last stretch of the driving." He said. "I don't trust Alex driving for so long." He added. I nodded. I wouldn't trust Alex either. I walked back to the U-Haul and got in on the passenger's side and we headed to Texas.

-Texas-

We stopped at the first motel we saw when we got into Texas and got two rooms. "How long should we stay here?" I asked my dad.

"Not long. Maybe ten to twelve hours. That gives us enough time to get some rest and get some food in us." He said. We said goodnight and my brothers followed me to our room. I called dibs on one of the beds and sat down on it. Alex immediately plopped down onto the small couch that was in the room and passed out. Ashton got on the other bed and fell asleep. I set the alarm on my phone for ten hours from now.

Eleven hours later we found ourselves back on the road. The rest of the trip passed by rather quickly, and in no time we were outside of the apartment complex I could now call home. Against my parents' opinions, I signed the papers for a two bedroom plus a loft apartment. So technically there were three bedrooms. They really didn't think that I needed an apartment that big, and that I should've gone for the studio option, but I really didn't care. I planned to utilize every inch of the two extra rooms. I parked in the garage and got out of the U-Haul. I found the management office and signed the lease. The woman handed me two sets of keys to my new apartment. I walked out of the office with the woman I had dealt with in the office so she could show me the way to my apartment. All of us grabbed a box and followed the woman to the elevator. She pressed to button for the third floor. Once the elevator doors opened we walked out, made a left, and then a right and we stopped in front of a door. The woman unlocked it and opened it for us.

"Welcome to your new home Miss Sandrino." She said with a smile. My family and I walked in. We put the boxes down by the stairs that led to the loft. I looked around and smiled. I had finally left the security of my parents and was now on my own. I turned and looked at my family.

"Let's do this." I said. After almost an hour of going up and down, we had gotten all of my boxes and posters up to my apartment. I grabbed my phone off the counter and walked onto my balcony. I turned around and took a picture of me and the scenery behind me.

"A selfie?" Ashton asked as he walked onto the balcony. I shrugged. "You want me to take the picture for you?"

"Nope." I shook my head. "Come here." I told him. He walked over and stood next to me. I called for Alex and he came out and stood on the opposite side of me.

"Selfies? Don't mind if I do." He said.

"Say 'LA'!" I said and took the picture. I looked at it and smiled. I opened the Instagram app on my phone and posted the picture. The caption was to the point: 'Just moved into my new apartment in LA! I'll miss you guys!' I tagged my brothers in it and set my phone down. I walked back inside and opened a box labeled 'photography' and pulled out my camera and picked up my tripod off the floor. I set it up outside and called my parents over. I set the timer on the camera. My parents stood behind me and my brothers. After the camera flashed I walked over and took the camera off of the tripod and looked at the photo. I handed the camera to Alex.

"This is really good." He said and passed it to our mom. She smiled.

"Can you get this framed and send it to me?" she asked.

"Of course." I told her. After that we said good bye to each other and my family left me and went back home. It was at this moment that I was glad that I could arrange to have furniture delivered and set up before I got here. Otherwise I would've had to sleep on the floor. The management office didn't seem to mind, and they were kind enough to suggest some nice furniture stores in the area. The décor was simple: white area rugs, stainless steel appliances, mahogany furniture, black leather couches, and a firm king bed. It was reminiscent of my parents' house. Mainly because even though I was far from home, I still wanted a homey touch; something to remind me of my family and this was it.

* * *

**A/N: What do you guys think? Please, let me know if there's something I can improve on for further chapters. Chapter 3 will be uploaded shortly. -Katy**


	3. A U-Haul and a New BMW

**A/N: Chapter two from Sawyer's POV *Warning: May be a bit short***

* * *

When I pulled into the lot, I saw a U-Haul and a BMW parked next to where I usually parked. "Someone's probably moving in." I said to myself as I got out of my car. I walked over to the elevator and headed up to my apartment. Once I reached my floor I got off the elevator and walked inside my apartment. I set my stuff down on my desk. Joey was sitting at his computer editing one of his videos.

"Someone's moving in." I told him and turned in my chair to face him. He did the same.

"Yeah I saw that girl Heidi walking up with a girl and her family when I came home." He said.

"Interesting." I said. "What do you want for dinner?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"We need to go grocery shopping. We could go out to eat…" He suggested. I was fine with that; I didn't feel like cooking anything anyway.

"Okay. We can leave in an hour or so." I said and got up from my chair to go get ready. We arrived at Palm Restaurant around 6 and ate dinner. When we got back to the apartment I started asking Joey questions about the girl that had just moved in.

"What did she look like?" I asked.

"Long, light brown hair. Maybe around five-seven. I didn't get a really good look. Just a quick glance." He said.

"You said something about a family." He nodded. "How big?"

"Mom, dad, two brothers. Or a brother and a boyfriend." Joey said. "One looked older, probably twenty-two, the other looked seventeen maybe." I nodded.

"Gotcha." I said. "Well, goodnight. I'll go grocery shopping tomorrow."

"Goodnight." Joey said as I walked to my room. I plopped down onto my bed and Hitch climbed up.

"Hey buddy." I said to him. "There's someone new next door for you to play with now." _If she likes dogs…_

* * *

_**A/N: As I said, it's a bit short, so because of that, I went ahead and typed up the next chapter and will upload it in a bit. Thank you for reading!**_


	4. Meeting the Neighbors

**A/N: Kaya's POV**

**For the text messages late in the chapter:**

_**Bold and italicized text is Sawyer**_

_Regular italicized text is Kaya_

* * *

I woke up the next day and started hanging up my clothes in my closet. I put some on the garment racks I had delivered that were in the loft. I put my shoes on the shelves and put my t-shirts, tank tops, camisoles, pajamas and undergarments in the drawers of my dresser. I shut my closet door and looked at my bare bed. _I should go shopping for some bedding today. And food._ I thought. I grabbed a towel and my toiletries from a box and walked into my bathroom and took a shower. When I finished I got dressed and put my dirty clothes in a pile on my bed. I picked my phone up and called DirecTV to see when they could come out and hook everything up. Unfortunately the earliest they'd be able to come was the twenty-sixth.

"I'll just have to watch Netflix and YouTube for the next week on my laptop…" I said to myself. I shrugged and put my flip flops on. I grabbed my bag and keys and walked out of my apartment.

"Hey." Someone said as I was locking my door. I looked over to see a guy with brown hair and gorgeous eyes doing the same.

"Hi." I said, smiling politely. He walked over and stopped a foot away from me.

"I'm Sawyer." He said, extending his hand for me to shake. And believe me, I knew who he was when I first saw him, and his voice when he said 'hi' just confirmed it. He was Sawyer Hartman. I subscribed to his YouTube channels and watch his videos all the time. It would be hard to not recognize him.

"Kaya." I said, shaking his hand. "I just moved in."

"Yeah, I saw the U-Haul in the lot yesterday. Just didn't know who it was for." He said. "Are you new to LA?" He asked.

"Yep. I'm new to California in general." I said.

"Where are you from?" He asked.

"Maryland." I told him.

"Cool." He said smiling. "Where are you headed?" he asked. We started walking to the elevator.

"I'm not sure actually." I told him, chuckling. "I was just going to drive around until I saw a store that sold bedding." I said as we approached the elevator. I pressed the down button.

"I was going to Target. You can follow me if you want." He said as we got on the elevator.

"Okay. Thanks." I said smiling. _That's really nice of him. I've known him for a few minutes and he's already being so friendly._ We walked out of the elevator and towards our cars.

"Whoa. That's weird. We parked right next to each other." He pointed out.

"Yeah, that is weird." I said and got in and started my car. I rolled my window down and he did the same. "Lead the way." I said. He smiled and nodded. We rolled our windows up and pulled out of our spots, me behind him. When we got to Target, we parked beside one another yet again. We walked in and both grabbed carts.

"What made you want to move to LA?" Sawyer asked.

"I needed some new scenery. Needed to be on my own, experience new things. Get out of the east basically." I said.

"I understand." He said. "Do you want help with picking out bedding?" He asked.

"Sure." I said. "I'm a minimalist. So neutrals and muted colors." I told him. He nodded and we began looking.

"Kaya, what about this one?" He asked and held up a bedding set. I walked towards him. "It's a light gray with really light mint green sheets and pillow cases." He said. It was perfect.

"I love it." I said and put it in my cart. "Now I need to get four pillows." I said. I grabbed four extra-firm pillows and shoved them into my cart. "I'm going to go pay for these and put them in my car so I can have some room to get some food." I said. He nodded.

"I'll be in the food section." He said. I nodded and paid for the stuff and put it in my car. I walked back into Target and found Sawyer in the cereal aisle. I looked in his cart. It had five cereal boxes in it.

"Did you just discover cereal or something?" I asked him. He chuckled.

"No. My roommate is a health nut and when he goes grocery shopping ninety-nine percent of everything he gets is organic." He said. "So when I get to do the shopping, which is almost never, I stock up on sugary cereal." He added, motioning to the boxes in his cart, three of which were Lucky Charms.

"I see…" I said. I grabbed a box of Frosted Mini Wheats and put them in my cart. "You know, Mini Wheats are good for you and they have a sweetness to them."

"So do Honey Nut Cheerios." He said with a smirk. We continued our shopping in peace, not really talking a lot. For only knowing each other for an hour or so, the silence wasn't awkward.

"Where's the nearest actual grocery store?" I asked Sawyer as we made our way towards the registers.

"A few minutes away." He said. "You want to stop there on our way back?" He asked.

"Yeah. I want to get some fish and whatnot."I said. "And some produce." I added. He started putting his stuff on the belt.

"Okay, sure." He said. I put the divider bar on the belt and put my stuff on it. We paid for our things and walked outside to our cars and loaded our things into them. Sawyer took the carts to the cart return. "Follow me." He said and we got into our cars and I followed him down the road. We parked in the lot and got out. I walked over to him.

"I'll just be a few minutes if you want to hang back." I said. He shrugged.

"It's fine. I don't have anywhere to be." He said and followed me into the store. I got a basket and got some fruits and vegetables.

"Are you a pescetarian or something?" Sawyer asked. I can see why he came to that conclusion. I didn't get any form of meat while we were near that section of the store.

"What? No." I said. "I eat meat; I just prefer to eat fruits, veggies, and seafood."

"Gotcha." He said as we made our way towards the fish counter.

"Hi. What can I get ya?" the man behind the counter said. I looked at the options.

"Can I get half a pound of shrimp and a salmon filet?" I asked.

"Would you like the shrimp steamed ma'am?" He asked me.

"No thanks." I said.

"Okay." He said. He weighed out the shrimp and wrapped the filet and the shrimp up.

"Thanks. Have a nice day." I told him. I put the salmon and shrimp in the basket.

"I believe I'm done." I told Sawyer.

"Okay." He said and led me to the checkout lines. I paid for my things and we headed back to the apartments.

"Thanks for showing me where things were." I told Sawyer as I walked to my trunk.

"No problem." He said. We both grabbed some of our stuff and headed towards the elevator.

"Our cars won't get vandalized or anything, will they?" I asked, looking back at my car. I've only had it for a year and nothing has happened to it. And I would like it to stay that way. He laughed at me.

"They're fine." He assured me as we stepped onto the elevator. I walked into my apartment and set my stuff on counter and walked back outside into the hallway. I was greeted by Sawyer's roommate, Joey Graceffa.

"Hi!" He said.

"Hey. I'm Kaya." I told him.

"I know. Sawyer told me." He said. "I'm Joey."

"I know. I watch your YouTube videos." I told him. We started walking towards the elevator.

"That's awesome." He said. "Would you like help carrying your stuff up here?" He asked.

"That would be great, thanks." I told him as the elevator doors opened. We got on and went down to the lot. When we got to my car he grabbed the rest of my groceries and I grabbed the bedding and two of the pillows from the back seat. It was nice to already know people who were so friendly. Back home everyone's so annoying and stuck up. It was refreshing to say the least. When we got up to our floor I led him into my apartment.

"You can just put that stuff where the other stuff is in the kitchen." I said as I walked into my bedroom. I put the bedding and pillows on my bed.

"You have a lot of stuff." Joey said from the other room.

"Yeah. Most of it is for work though." I told him as I walked out of my room.

"Did you move out here because of your job?" He asked.

"No. I just needed a change." I said. He didn't press the issue, which I was secretly hoping he wouldn't because I really didn't feel like explaining what it is that I do. It was bound to be found out anyway. "Well, thanks for helping. I only have two more things to grab." I said, taking my keys off the counter.

"No problem." He said. When we walked out of my apartment we parted ways. When I got down to the lot I saw Sawyer at his car. I walked over and shut my trunk and grabbed the other pillows from the backseat and locked my car.

"Joey's really nice." I said. He nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he's really awesome." We headed upstairs together. When we got up to our floor we said goodbye to each other and I went into my apartment. I set my pillows on the bed and started putting my groceries away and organizing everything in the cabinets. When I finished that I moved to my bedroom. And made my bed. I was still baffled at how Sawyer had picked something that I liked so quickly. When he showed me the one he picked out I was still debating between the first two I had seen. When I finished that I went back into the kitchen and started prepping my dinner. I chopped up the shrimp and put them in a Ziploc bag and seasoned them with a little salt and pepper. I made sure all the pieces were seasoned evenly and added them to a pan on the stove and cooked them. I put the cooked shrimp in a bowl in the fridge to cool. I grabbed another Ziploc bag and poured in a bit of olive oil, added some chopped rosemary, salt and pepper, and added the salmon filet to the bag. I put the bag in the fridge next to the shrimp.

_I should make them something for helping me…_ I thought. I picked up my keys and went back to the grocery store. I got more shrimp and two more filets, as well as an assortment of berries. Cooking was the only way I knew how to express my gratitude. When I got back home I prepared the shrimp and salmon the same way I had prepared mine.

At around four I started making my dinner. I chopped up lettuce and squeezed some lemons for my shrimp salad. In the bowl of the lemon juice, I added some agave nectar, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. I stirred it and set it aside. I took the salmon out and placed the filets in a clean pan on the stove. When they were done, I put two filets in a Tupperware and placed a lid on it. I made the salad and did the same with it. In a small Tupperware, I added the berries, a tiny bit of sugar, and some agave nectar. I stirred it and put a lid on that as well. I stacked the three containers up. I grabbed a piece of paper from my notepad and a pen and wrote a note:

_Sawyer and Joey,_

_Thank you for being so kind today! I really appreciate it. Enjoy!_

_- Kaya_

I included the ingredients just in case they were curious and folded the piece of paper and grabbed the containers. I walked over to their door and knocked. I waited for a minute. "I guess they aren't home…" I said to myself and started towards my door when I heard a door open.

"Kaya!" Sawyer said. I turned around.

"I thought you weren't home for a second." I said, walking back towards him.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing to the containers in my hand.

"I wanted to express my gratitude." I said. "So I thought I would make you guys something. There's some salad, salmon, and mixed berries that would be good over some vanilla ice cream, froyo, or yogurt." I added. I looked up at him, hoping he didn't think that I was weird. It's a pretty weird thing to do, but I've always done it.

"Awesome. Thanks." He said, taking hold of the containers. "Joey will be glad he doesn't have to cook." He smiled.

"Well, thanks again for everything today." I told him and walked back to my apartment to eat my own dinner. I sat down at my table and ate my dinner. I wasn't a chef but I did know my way around a kitchen as stereotypical as that sounded. After I finished I gave the dishes a preliminary wash and put them in the dishwasher. When I was done that, I changed and put on a pair of running shorts, a tank top, and my Nikes and went for a short run around the block. When I got back to my apartment I continued my workout doing the thing I hated the most but need to do: burpees. I was halfway into my set when I heard a knock at my door. I paused the music coming from my laptop and opened the door to find Sawyer standing there.

"Hey Sawyer. What's up?" I asked him, out of breath.

"Did I come at a bad time?" he asked. I shook my head. He cleared his throat. "Well, Joey and I along with some others are meeting for lunch tomorrow and we were wondering if you wanted to come with us." He said.

"Yeah, sure." I said, my heart rate returning to its normal pace. "Do you have your phone with you?" I asked him.

"No." He said. I opened my door wider.

"Okay, well come in." I told him. He came in and I went into my bedroom to grab my phone. I came back out and handed it to him. "Put your number in here and I'll text you so you can have my number." I said. He handed it back to me when he was done.

"There you go. I'll text you when I find out where we'll be going and when." He said and opened the door. "See you tomorrow." He said and walked out. I got a glass of water and downed half of it. The rest of my burpees could wait until tomorrow night. I put the glass down and grabbed my phone off the counter. I texted Sawyer:

_It's Kaya. Here's my number._

"Good going Captain Obvious." I said out loud after pressing send. He texted back within a few seconds.

**_Cheesecake Factory at The Grove. 12:30_**

_Where is that? Can you lead me there? _I had heard about The Grove in a number of YouTuber's videos, but I had never been there.

**_Do you just want a ride?_** How do I respond to that without sounding thirsty? I thought about it for a minute settling with a simple answer.

_Sure. Thanks._

**_I'll knock on your door at 12._**

_Sounds good._ After I hit send I finished the rest of my water and put the glass in the sink. I took my phone and my laptop into my room with me and sat down on my bed. I logged onto Netflix and picked up where I had left off on Jersey Shore. I didn't see what people found so great about it, so I decided that I would watch and find out. And the drama was addictive. A few minutes after I hit play my phone buzzed.

**_Dress code for tomorrow is casual._**

_Okay. Thanks._

**_No prob_**

After that I watched a few episode of Jersey Shore and went to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Please let me know what you guys think so far. Was reading the text conversation confusing? Should I do it another way so it's easier to read? Let me know. Thanks for reading! There's more to come. I'll update on Monday (July 22). -Katy**


	5. Meeting Kaya

**A/N: I forgot to put what thirsty meant in the Authors note at the end of the last chapter. It means desperate or too eager to do something, just in case you were wondering. This is chapter 4 from Sawyer's POV.**

**For the messages later in the chapter: Kaya is **_the regular italicized font _**and Sawyer is ****_the bolded italicized font._**

* * *

I got up the next morning hoping I would run into the girl who just moved in. I took a shower and ate breakfast. At around 10 I grabbed my keys and headed out the door. I looked over and there she was.

"Hey." I said as I locked my door and began walking towards her. She was beautiful.

"Hi." She said smiling. She had a smile that could rival Joey's. When I got closer to her I held out my hand.

"I'm sawyer." I said. She shook my hand. _She has soft hands_… I thought.

"Kaya," She said. "I just moved in."

"Yeah, I saw the U-Haul in the lot. Just didn't know who it was for." I told her. "Are you new to LA?" I asked.

"Yep, I'm new to California in general." She said.

"Where are you from?" I asked her.

"Maryland." She said.

"Cool." I said smiling. "Where are you headed?" I asked her as we started walking to the elevator.

"I'm not sure actually." _Jackpot_. "I was just going to drive around until I saw a store that sold bedding." She said. She pressed the down button.

"I was going to target. You can follow me if you want." I said as we boarded the elevator.

"Okay. Thanks." She said smiling. The elevator ride down to the lot was quiet. When we got off the elevator we walked to our cars. Hers was the BMW I had noticed yesterday.

"Whoa. That's weird. We parked right next to each other." I said. _Cool Sawyer. You couldn't have just said 'nice car'?_

"Yeah. That is weird." She said. We got in our cars. She put her window down and I put the passenger side window down. "Lead the way." She said. I smiled and nodded. We rolled our windows up and I led her down the road to Target. We parked next to each other and walked inside and got carts.

"What made you want to LA?" I asked her.

"I needed some new scenery. Needed to be on my own, experience new things. Get out of the east basically." She said.

"I understand." I told her. I looked at her. "You want help picking out bedding?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Sure." She said. "I'm a minimalist. So neutrals and muted colors." I nodded and began looking. I walked into the next aisle of bedding. I saw one that I thought she'd like, put it in the cart and walked back over to her. She looked like she was deep in thought.

"Kaya," I said. Her name rolled off my tongue naturally, like I've known her for years. "What about this one?" I asked her and held it up. "It's a light gray with really light mint green sheets and pillow cases."I said.

"I love it." She said and put it in her cart. "Now I need to get four pillows." She grabbed them and managed to somehow get all our pillows into the cart. "I'm going to go pay for these and put them in my car so I can have some room to get some food." I nodded.

"I'll be in the food section." I told her. She nodded and walked away. Kaya was really pretty. Her hair was a light golden brown and waist length, her eyes were a deep forest green, and her skin was sun kissed. She looked like she belonged, and would fit in here quickly. I made my way to the cereal aisle and got a few boxes of my favorite cereals: Lucky Charms, Honey Nut Cheerios, and Cap'n Crunch. Kaya walked up next to my cart.

"Did you just discover cereal or something?" she asked me. I chuckled.

"No. My roommate is a health nut and when he goes grocery shopping ninety-nine percent of everything he gets is organic. So when I get to do the shopping, which is almost never, I stock up on sugary cereal." I said, pointing to the boxes in the cart.

"I see." She said and put a box of Mini Wheats in her cart. "You know, Mini Wheats are good for you and they have a sweetness to them."

"So do Honey Nut Cheerios." I said with a smirk. The rest of the time we spent in Target was quiet.

"Where's the nearest actual grocery store?" Kaya asked as we made our way through the store to the registers.

"A few minutes away." I told her. "You want to stop there on our way back?"

"Yeah. I want to get some fish and whatnot." She said as I began putting my stuff on the belt at the register. "And some produce."

"Okay, sure." I said. She put the divider bar on the belt and started putting her things on it. After I paid I waited for her and we walked out of the store together. We put our stuff in our cars and I put the carts in the cart return. "Follow me." I said and we got in our cars and drove down the road. When we got there we parked and got out of our cars. Kaya walked over to me.

"I'll just be a few minutes if you want to hang back." She said. I shrugged.

"It's fine. I don't have anywhere to be." I told her and walked into the store with her. She got a basket and filled it with fruits and vegetables. We passed the meat section of the store and she didn't get anything. "Are you a pescetarian or something?" I asked her.

"What? No." She said. "I eat meat I just prefer to eat more fruits, veggies, and seafood."

"Gotcha." I said. _She must eat a lot of seafood back home. _We made our way to the fish counter.

"What can I get ya?" the man behind the counter asked her. She looked at the display case.

"Can I get half a pound of shrimp and a salmon filet?" She asked.

"Would you like the shrimp steamed ma'am?"

"No thanks." She told him.

"Okay." The man said and weighed out the shrimp. He wrapped up the salmon and shrimp and handed the packages to Kaya.

"Thanks. Have a nice day." She said and placed the packages in the basket. "I believe I'm done." She told me.

"Okay." I said and led her to the registers. She paid for her things and we headed back to the apartments.

"Thanks for showing me where things were." She told me as she walked to her trunk.

"No problem." I told her. We took some of our stuff and walked over to the elevator. Kaya looked back at her car.

"Our cars won't get vandalized or anything, will they?" She asked. I couldn't help but laugh.

"They're fine." I told her. When we got up to our floor, we went into our apartments. When I walked into mine, Joey was sitting on the couch eating a sandwich. "Her name is Kaya." I told him. "She's from Maryland and now is your chance to get to know her if you want. She has a lot of stuff." He got up from the couch, a smile on his face, and walked outside. I put the stuff in the bags away and went back down to my car. I got a few more bags and waited for the elevator. I put the bags on the counter and went back down to my car to get the last of the bags out of my trunk. I had just closed my trunk and locked my car when Kaya walked out of the elevator and towards her car. She closed her trunk and took the last two pillows out of her backseat and locked her car.

"Joey's really nice." She said as we got on the elevator.

"Yeah, he's really awesome." I said with a nod. When we got to our floor, we parted ways. When I walked into my apartment, Joey was putting the stuff away. "So… What do you think?" I asked. "I think she's great." Joey nodded.

"She's really sweet. And dedicated to whatever it is she does." He said. I looked at him, a bit confused.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked as I got a glass from the cupboard, filling it with water.

"I carried her bags into her apartment for her and she has a lot of boxes. I pointed that out and she said that most of it was for work." He said.

"Huh. Gotcha." I said.

"I was thinking chicken tonight. If that's okay with you." Joey said. I nodded and walked over to my computer.

A few hours later I was sitting on the couch watching TV and Joey was in his room vlogging when I heard a knock on the door. I paused what I was watching and searched for a shirt to put on and walked to the door. When I opened it I saw Kaya walking back to her apartment.

"Kaya!" I called out. She turned around and started walking back towards me.

"I thought you weren't home for a second." She said and stopped in front of me.

"What's that?" I asked her, pointing to the containers she was holding.

"I wanted to express my gratitude." She said. "So I thought I would make you guys something. There's some salad, salmon, and mixed berries that would be good over some vanilla ice cream, froyo, or yogurt." She said and looked up at me. _She cooked for us… How awesome of her. She really didn't need to do that…_

"Awesome. Thanks." I said and took the containers from her. "Joey will be glad that he doesn't have to cook." I said smiling.

"Well thanks again for everything today." Kaya said and walked back to her apartment. I closed the door and set the containers on the counter and got two plates out.

"Joey!" I called. He game down the stairs into the kitchen. "You're off the hook. Kaya made us dinner."

"What is it?" He asked.

"Salmon, salad, mixed berries." I said. I picked up the folded piece of paper and read it out loud. "Sawyer and Joey, thank you for being so kind today! I really appreciate it. Enjoy! Kaya." I handed the piece of paper to Joey. "She included the ingredients." I said.

"Looks yummy." Joey said. And it was. The salmon was probably the best I've ever had. And the berries _were_ good over vanilla ice cream. After we finished eating, Joey and I went on our computers.

"She watches my videos." Joey said.

"That's cool." I replied. _I wonder if she watches mine._

"Which probably means she watches your videos too." He said.

"Maybe." I said. "I wonder how long she's watched your videos." He shrugged.

"Shane wants to know is you would like to join us and the others for lunch tomorrow." Joey said, looking at his phone.

"Can I bring Kaya? Do you think she'd want to go?" I asked him.

"You can ask her. I think she'll say yes. Shane's fine with you bringing someone." He said.

"I'm going to go ask her then." I said, putting Hitch on the floor and getting up from my chair. I walked over to her apartment and knocked on her door. After a few seconds she came to the door.

"Hey Sawyer. What's up?" She asked, out of breath. She was wearing short mesh shorts, a tank top and tennis shoes. _She must've been working out. I hope I didn't come at a bad time._

"Did I come at a bad time?" I asked. She shook her head. I cleared my throat. "Well, Joey and I along with some others are meeting for lunch and we were wondering if you wanted to come with us." I told her.

"Yeah, sure." She said. "Do you have your phone with you?" she asked me.

"No." I told her. She opened her door wider.

"Okay, well, come in." She said. I walked in her apartment and Joey wasn't kidding. She had tons of boxes. I shut the door behind me. She walked into another room and came out with her phone. She handed it to me.

"Put your number in here and I'll text you so you can have my number." She said. Once I was done I handed it back to her.

"There you go. I'll test you when I find out where we'll be going and when." I said and opened the door. "See you tomorrow." I said and walked back to my apartment.

"What did she say?" Joey asked as I walked in.

"She said yes. I have to text her when I know when and where we're going." I told him.

"We're going to the Cheesecake Factory at The Grove around 12:30." Joey said. At that moment, my phone buzzed on my desk.

**New Message From:**

**Unknown**

I unlocked my screen and tapped on the 'Messages' icon.

_It's Kaya. Here's my number._

I entered Kaya's number into my contacts and typed a reply.

**_Cheesecake Factory at The Grove. 12:30_**

_Where is that? Can you lead me there?_

**_Do you just want a ride?_**

She took awhile to respond. I hope I didn't sound weird or weird her out.

_Sure. Thanks._

**_I'll knock on your door at 12._**

_Sounds good._

I turned to Joey. "Not only is she going, but I'm giving her a ride." I said to him.

"Ooooh. Look at you." He said. "And dress casual. You know how Shane is."

"Okay. I'm going to go to bed. See you in the morning." I said and went to my room.

**_Dress code for tomorrow is casual._**

_Okay. Thanks._

I debated whether or not I should reply, so I just sent a simple 'no prob' and went to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, I will be out of town for a few days so I won't be updating. But I will be writing the next few chapters in my notebook while I'm away. Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave comments/suggestions/etc. -Katy**


	6. Meeting the Crew

**A/N: Kaya's POV of the lunch. Was going to be split into two chapters, but because I haven't been updating like I should've been, I'm keeping it as one. I was out of town and was gone for longer than anticipated, and my computer was being dumb, so yeah. But here you go! Sorry for the long wait. This chapter is about Kaya's and her family's story, so it's going to be mainly Kaya answering questions about where she's from, what she does, and what her family does. Enjoy.**

* * *

This morning I woke up at seven and showered. I sat on my bed in a sports bra and a pair of shorts thinking about what I should wear. "I don't want to be too casual and look sloppy…" I said out loud. I got up and looked through my clothes in my closet. I didn't want to wear pants or shorts, so I skipped over those and went towards my dresses and skirts. I settled on a spaghetti strap maxi dress that had a black and white chevron bodice and a plain black skirt. _It'll do. Even though I'll probably end up changing my mind right before I walk out the door… _

I put the dress on a hook on the back of my closet door and went into the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal. I sat outside on my balcony, taking in the scenery when I heard my phone ringing. I got up and set my bowl on the coffee table and picked up my phone.

"Hi Ashton." I said, drawing out the 'hi'.

_"How's LA?"_ he asked.

"Fine. I'm still unpacking though…" I told him.

_"It's been three days and you're still not unpacked yet?"_ He asked. I may be quick when it comes to doing things, but I'm not that fast…

"Well I need to organize things, and buy supplemental goods." I told him. "Why'd you call Ashton? You never call me…"

_"Mom told me to call you. She said she hadn't heard from you yet."_

"Of course she would." I sighed.

_"I'd call her if I were you…"_ He said.

"Okay, okay… Jeez. Bye." I said.

_"Bye little sister."_ He said and we hung up. I scrolled through my contacts until I saw my mom's and tapped on her cell phone number.

_"Thank the lord you're okay."_ My mom said relieved.

"Yep. I'm fine mom. I'm still alive." I told her.

_"I'm so relieved. Why haven't you called me? Or talked to your brothers or father?" _She asked.

"I've been busy organizing things, buying groceries, learning where things are and stuff." I said.

_"Well, you will not guess what happened yesterday."_ She said. I sat down on my couch and continued eating my cereal as she launched into a story about a coworkers son totaling said coworkers car.

"Wow. That sucks." I said when she was done. I got up and put my bowl in the sink.

_"Yes it does. So have you met anybody yet?"_ she asked.

"Yeah, two of my neighbors. Sawyer and Joey."

_"That's it?" _She asked.

"Well, I'm going to lunch with them and some of their friends today." I told her.

_"How nice!" _She said enthusiastically. _"How's your job search going?"_

"I have a meeting with a few people on Monday." I told her, looking at the clock on the stove. It was already 10 and I still needed to do my hair. _Ew, when did I become so girly? _Hopefully my mom won't want to talk for much longer.

_"That's great sweetie! I'm proud of you. Well, I have to go. I have a hair appointment in twenty minutes. I love you." _She said.

"Love you too." I told her and hung up. I tapped the message icon and texted Sawyer.

_Can I have Joey's number?_

He sent me Joey's number and I texted Joey, hoping he could help me pick something out for lunch, because I had changed my mind on my previously picked outfit.

_Can you come over for five minutes? –Kaya_

**_Yeah. Be over in a sec._**

A few minutes later I heard a knock at my door. I opened it and let Joey in.

"Why'd you want me to come over?" He asked.

"Because I need help picking out something casual, but not too casual, and I had picked something out, but I changed my mind." I told him.

"Where's your closet?" He asked. I led him to my closet and stood in the door way. He pulled out a pair of short white denim shorts and looked through my tops. He pulled a sheer dark blue button-up shirt off the hanger and handed it and the shorts to me. He then moved to my shoes, pulling out my black TOMS.

"I'd wear a white cami or tight tank top under the shirt." He said. I grabbed a white cami from my dresser. "Well, change… Let me see how it looks." I did as he said. "Tuck in the cami and only button the top half way." I did what he told me to do and stood in front of my mirror.

"Thanks Joey." I said and pulled him into a hug.

"No problem. I'll see you in an hour and a half." He said and left. I walked into my bathroom and plugged in my flat-iron. My hair had started to revert back to its naturally wavy and untamable state, which I couldn't stand. When I got done it was 11:50. I unplugged my flat-iron and left it on the bathroom counter to cool down. I grabbed a small black bag and put my wallet and phone in it. I put my TOMS on and waited in my kitchen for Sawyer. At 12 on the dot there was a knock on my door. I walked over and opened it.

"Come on it." I told Sawyer. I went into my room and picked my bag off of my nightstand. I walked back out and grabbed my keys off the coffee table. He looked me up and down.

"You look nice." He said. I looked at him. He was wearing red skinny jeans, a fitted white v-neck, and a snap back.

"Thanks. So do you." And it wasn't a lie. He could wear a trash bag and he'd still look hot as hell.

"You ready?" he asked me. I nodded and walked out of my apartment and locked the door.

"Isn't Joey coming?" I asked him.

"Yeah, but he drove himself." He said as we got on the elevator.

"Who's going to be at lunch?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me. We walked out of the elevator towards his car. He unlocked it.

"You, me, Joey," he said before getting in. I opened my door and got in. "Shane, Lisa, Connor, and Tyler." He finished. We put our seatbelts on and he drove out of the lot.

"Gotcha." I said. I hoped that they would like me. Knowing them would be gateways to meeting other people.

"It'll be fine. You'll be fine." He said, sensing my nervousness. "They'll love you." A few minutes later we parked about a block away from The Grove and got out and walked to the restaurant. When we approached it, I saw Joey and Shane standing outside. Joey waved.

"Hey guys." Sawyer said. "Shane, this is Kaya. Kaya, this is Shane."

"Nice to meet you. I watch your videos." I told him. I could feel my cheeks getting warmer.

"Awesome. It's nice to meet you too. The others are inside." He said. Joey, Sawyer, and I followed him to the table.

"Everyone, this is Kaya. Kaya this is Lisa, Connor and Tyler." Shane said and sat down next to Lisa. Joey sat next to Connor, I sat next to Joey and Sawyer sat down between me and Lisa. Tyler was sitting across from me, in between Connor and Shane.

"So where are you from?" Tyler asked.

"Maryland." I told him and opened the menu.

"What is Maryland like?" He asked.

"Boring as hell." I told him. It was the truth. He looked at me over his menu, eyes squinted. Sawyer turned to me.

"What's your poison?" He asked and looked at the drink menu.

"I don't really drink enough to know." I told him. _Long Island's are pretty good. _I added in my head. Lisa looked at me.

"Get the pomegranate margarita is you do get a drink. They're so good." I nodded. It's only a little after 12:30 and they're already thinking of getting drinks already? _Hopefully they don't get anything too strong, or we're here long enough for the alcohol to wear off._ I thought to myself.

"I think I'll pass." I said and went back to looking at the menu. Tyler was still looking at me.

"When did you move here?" Connor asked me.

"A few days ago." I told him.

"Oh cool. How do you like LA so far?" He asked me.

"It's really great. The weather is much better here than it is back home." I said. I leaned closer to Sawyer. "Why is Tyler staring at me?" I whispered into his ear.

"He does that when he's trying to figure out if he knows someone or seen them somewhere." He whispered back.

"I know you!" Tyler said, pointing at me and putting his menu down. I looked at him with what I can assume was a very confused look plastered on my face.

"R-really?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Yup. You worked with my queen." He said. Everyone's eyes at the table were now in my direction

"I'm, I'm sorry… Who's your 'queen'?" I asked.

"Lady Gaga." Sawyer said. Tyler nodded.

"Yeah. I did." I said and took a sip of the water that was sitting in front of me. Thankfully the waitress showed up to take our orders so everyone's attention went to her. When she got to me I took a deep breath. _A drink sounds really appealing right now. _"I'll have the Monterey cheeseburger, a long island iced tea and another water please." I said and handed her my menu. This wasn't exactly the way I had planned to tell everyone what it is that I do. I wanted to wait a few months, but today would have to do. Now that the waitress was gone, all attention was back on me.

"What?!" Joey asked.

"Kaya Sandrino." Tyler said. "I knew I had heard your name before. It's not every day that you hear a name like Kaya."

"What do you do exactly?" Shane asked. This was probably the question on everyone's minds. Well, except for Tyler's of course. I cleared my throat.

"I make music." I said. "I make beats, compose pieces of music, and help producers out." I told them.

"What did you do with Lady Gaga?" Joey asked.

"I helped her with her 'Born This Way' album." I said.

"Wait, how old are you?" Connor asked.

"Twenty-two." I said.

"When did that album come out?" He asked.

"2011." Tyler and I said in unison.

"So you were only twenty when you worked on her album?" Joey asked.

"Nineteen, twenty. I turned twenty-one month before it was released." I told them.

"Wow, you were really young." Lisa said. "How'd you end up helping her?"

"Her agents reached out to me after hearing about me and watching me DJ at a few venues and thought that I would be good at making the beats that they were looking for." I told them.

"Awesome." They said. After that the conversation went to a normal everyday conversation and every one talked about their weeks.

"So Kaya, since you subscribed to mine and Joey's channels, who else do you subscribe to you? Just out of curiosity." Shane asked

"A lot of people. Do you really want to know every channel I sub to?" I asked. He nodded. "Connor, Tyler, Lisa, Sawyer, Caspar, Sam, Kingsley, Maz, Marcus, Jenna Marbles, Ryan Higa, Jacksgap, Alfie, PewDiePie, Mitchell Davis, Doug, and Sam Pepper. And a few lesser known makeup gurus, and vloggers." I said.

"You said Sam twice." Tyler said.

"I did? Oops." I said. He shot me a weird look which I chose to ignore.

"Who's your favorite YouTuber?" Joey asked.

"I don't have a favorite." I lied.

"I call B.S. on that. Everyone has a favorite." Lisa said. "I even have a favorite."

"Me?" Shane asked.

"No." She said, making everyone at the table laugh.

"Well, I don't want to be mean or hurt anyone's feelings." I said.

"It's fine." Connor said.

"Fine. My favorite UK YouTuber is a tie between Sam and Marcus. And my favorite US YouTuber is a tie between Sawyer and Tyler." I told them.

"Why those people?" Connor asked.

"Well, Sam because he's hilarious and his public pranks are ridiculous, and Marcus because I can relate to most of the things that he talks about in his videos." I said. I pointed to Tyler. "You because you're fabulous and I love your openness and fierceness. And you," I said and turned to Sawyer. "Because your challenges and collabs are funny, your 'Thru My Eyes' videos are amazing, and Hitch is adorable." I said.

"Thank you." Tyler and Sawyer said simultaneously. The rest of the lunch was nice. I got to meet some of my favorite YouTuber's, and I think I could call them friends. I exchanged hugs and numbers with Tyler, Connor, Shane and Lisa before Sawyer and I left to go back to the apartments.

"I told you I ate meat." I said as I buckled my seatbelt.

"Yup." He said, a small smile on his face. "Was it good?" I've never tried that burger."

"It was so good." I said. "Lunch was fun."

"Yeah. I have one question though." He said. I looked at him. "Why didn't you tell me or Joey what you did?" He asked.

"I wanted to wait. My parents never tell people what they actually do. Only their really good friends know. And that's the same with me. Only a few people beside my family know." I told him.

"What do your parents do? That is, if you don't mind me asking." He said.

"I'll answer your question, just hold on a sec." I said and pulled my phone out of my bag. I texted my mom asking her if it would be okay to tell him and the others. My mom said as long as I trust them to not treat or think of me differently then she and my dad were fine with me telling them. I composed a group message to Joey, Shane, Lisa, Tyler, and Connor asking if they could come over to my place. I figured that telling them all at once would be easier than telling them individually at some point. They all said sure and I told them that the door would be open and to just come in when they got there. I turned to Sawyer. "I will tell you when everyone gets to my place." I said as we turned onto the street our complex was on. "I'd rather tell you guys at once than tell the same story six times."

"I understand. Repeating the same thing six times would get pretty annoying." He said as we parked. When we got up to our floor, Joey was waiting outside my door.

"I thought you said it would be open." He said jokingly, a hint of sass in his voice.

"Sorry." I said laughing and unlocked my door. They followed me inside.

"I see most of your boxes are gone." Joey said as he walked into the living room.

"Mmhmm. I couldn't sleep last night so I put things in their new places and stuff." I said and sat my stuff down on the kitchen counter. "Thirsty?" I asked them. They both nodded. "Is water fine?" They nodded. I opened the cupboard and reached up to grab the glasses but they were too far back. Normally I would've climbed onto the counter to grab them, but due to company, I stoop on my tip toes and tried to grab them.

"Here." Sawyer said. He put his hand on my waist and got down three glasses.

"Thanks." I said. I hoped my blush wasn't noticeable.

"Welcome." He said with a small smile. I opened the freezer and put ice in the glasses and filled them with water. I handed Joey and Sawyer their glasses. "You can sit where ever you'd like." I told them. A few minutes later Connor and Tyler walked in.

"Nice place." Tyler said. "It's like pages out of an IKEA catalog."

"Thank you. And that's because it is." I responded. "Feel free to get something to drink. I also have snacks in the cabinet against the wall if you're hungry." I added. I took my jewelry box from my room and put it on the coffee table. I picked up one of the remaining boxes and put it in front of my entertainment center. I was getting some grapes when Shane and Lisa came in. "You can sit down with the others over there." I said. I put the bowl of grapes back in the fridge and walked over to the group. Shane, Lisa, Tyler and Sawyer were sitting on the couch. Joey and Connor were sitting on the floor in front of it. I stood in front of my TV.

"Okay. So you're probably wondering why I've asked you guys to come over. Well in the car Sawyer asked why I didn't tell him or Joey what it is that I do for a living. And long story short, it's because I didn't know how they'd, and the rest of you, would react. I was going to wait until all of our friendships developed a bit more. However, with the help of Tyler, you guys now know what I do." I said. I took a sip of my water. "My parents don't tell people what they do either because they don't want to be treated differently than anybody else. They don't want special treatment; they're human beings like the rest of the world." They all nodded. They seemed to understand. "Sawyer also asked me what my parents do. So to save time, I've asked you all to come so I could tell you all at once. And I know that since my parents don't tell anyone what they do, they said that as long as I trust you guys enough to not judge or tell everyone that you know, that they'd be fine with me telling you. And even though I've only known you guys for a little bit, I feel like I've known you guys forever and I feel like I can trust you guys." They nodded. I knelt down and opened the box next to me. I took out some of the framed pictures that were in it. They were pictures of me and my family. I handed them to Sawyer. "You can pass them around." I said, and took another drink of my water.

"I'm going to start from the beginning. My mom is from England and my dad is from Italy. My mom's name is Annabelle Sandrino and my father's name is Lorenzo Sandrino, but they go by Anna and Enzo. They met while my mom was on holiday in Rome. They had the whole long distance relationship thing. After five years of doing that, my dad moved to England and they got married. One year later, my twin brother Ashton and I were born. He's an hour older than me, but acts like he's twelve not twenty-two. Five years later, my younger brother Alex was born. My dad was a record producer as well and traveled back and forth between Los Angeles, New York, and London. When I was ten we moved to New York." I told them. Their eyes were locked on me, taking in all the information I was throwing at them. "My mom had always made jewelry in her spare time and one day a client my dad was working with came over to our house. Our house was closer to the airport than the recording studio was, and my dad had converted our basement into his personal studio. The guy saw my mother working and asked her if she could make a necklace for his wife. She said yes and he told his friends and they told their friends, and my mom became a jewelry designer and maker for celebrities. So to sum it all up, my dad is a world-famous record producer and my mother designs jewelry for every celebrity you can name." I said. Everyone's eyes were wide.

"Beyoncé?" Lisa asked. I nodded.

"Kim Kardashian?" asked Sawyer.

"And Kanye." I told him. I opened my jewelry box and pulled out a few rings, a bracelet, and a necklace. I set them down on the coffee table. "My mom made those for me when I turned sixteen up until this year for my birthday."

"These are really pretty." Lisa said holding the rings.

"So you know a lot of celebrities then." Joey said. I shrugged.

"I suppose. Whenever my parents are invited anywhere, I tag along, say my hello's, sneak into the bathroom and change out of my dress and go into the kitchen. So I know a lot more chefs on a personal level than I do celebrities." I said.

"So that's where you learned how to cook." Sawyer said. I nodded. The extent of my parents' cooking is breakfast foods, pasta, and carry out.

"Wow." Connor said. "Your family is so interesting."

"Thanks." I said. I put the jewelry back in my jewelry box it and put it back in my room.

"So what do you and your parents tell people when they're asked what they do?" Tyler asked when I emerged from my room.

"My mom tells everyone that she makes jewelry and sells it. So there's truth to what she tells people. But my dad on the other hand tells people that he's a doctor. However, he couldn't tell a femur from a tibia if you asked him." I told him.

"What do you tell people?" Shane asked me.

"I tell people that I' a freelance photographer." They all looked at me, brows furrowed. I pulled out a few more pictures from the box. They were pictures I had taken on the beaches in the Bahamas at dusk and dawn. "These are why I tell people that I'm a photographer." I said holding the frames up.

"You took those?" Joey asked pointing at them. I nodded.

"You're so talented." Connor said.

"Thanks Connor." I said. I looked at them. "Well, will you guys still think of me as Sawyer and Joey's neighbor and not as a producer? I just want you all to think of me as a normal girl who subscribes to all of your channels." They all nodded.

"Of course." Sawyer said. It felt good to tell them about what my parents and I did. I hated lying about this kind of stuff. But because of my parents' past experiences, I always felt like what happened to them would happen to me. I hated being treated differently. It drove me crazy.

An hour later, it was just Sawyer, Joey and I, and we sat outside on my balcony. I was thinking about my upcoming meeting with a record label when Joey's voice caught me off guard and brought me back to reality.

"What do you do during your free time?" He asked.

"I take _a lot_ of pictures. And make mixes and upload them onto my YouTube channel." I said. I sped up on the last part hoping they wouldn't catch it, and mentally kicking myself for mentioning it.

"You have a YouTube channel?!" Joey asked. He and Sawyer looked at me. I sighed.

"Yup." I said.

"Do you mind showing us?" Sawyer asked. I got up from my spot and walked into my room. I picked my MacBook up off of my bed and went back onto the balcony. I opened the browser and logged into YouTube. I sat down in between Sawyer and Joey and placed it on my lap.

"Kaya Sandrino music." Joey read. He grabbed the MacBook off my lap and browsed through my channel, watching/listening to the videos.

"How long does it take you to do that?" Sawyer asked.

"It depends. A day, a few days, a week…" I said.

"You should make a second channel like mine and Sawyer's." Joey said as he handed Sawyer the laptop.

"I've thought about it. I just never thought I did anything worth capturing and sharing with people on the internet." I told him. He shrugged.

"I vlog at Whole Foods." Joey said. "It just takes time to get used to vlogging. Once you do it a few times it becomes natural. And you could do collabs, and 'Ask Kaya's' and challenges and stuff like that as well. You don't have to just vlog."

"I guess." I said. Sawyer put the laptop back on my lap. I created a second channel. "There. It's called 'Kaya Sandrino' with no spaces." I told them.

"Awesome." Sawyer said. "I think you'll be a really popular YouTuber Kaya." I smiled.

"Thanks." I said. Joey nodded.

"Yeah, you're funny, smart, and pretty." Joey said. "What's not to like? We'll talk about you in our videos. You should also promote your new channel on your first channel to get your subscribers to sub to this channel." I nodded.

"Thanks guys." I said.

* * *

**A/N: Comment/Review? Do you guys have any ideas for challenges for Kaya to do with the others for her new channel, if so leave a review/comment. I know Kaya's story seems far-fetched, but I wanted her to be really interesting and stuff. Plus Pitch Perfect was playing in the background while I was writing this chapter and I was kind of inspired by Beca's goals in life, so yeah. I'd love to hear what you guys are thinking so far. - Katy**


	7. The Drunk Cotton Ball Challenge

**A/N: I'd like to start this chapter by saying thank you to all of you who have read this, favorited it (is that a word? Probably not, but I'm going to use it anyway…), and followed it. It really means a lot to me, truly it does. So thank you from the bottom of my heart, and enjoy!**

**I also have a few questions: 1.) Do you want me to add a chapter that is Sawyer's POV of the lunch/after the lunch? 2.) Are there any scenarios that you'd like to happen in this story? 3.) Do you have an idea as to which one of Sawyer's friends will try to make a move on Kaya? Who do you want/would you like to see make a move on Kaya?**

**For texts: J=Joey, S=Sawyer, T=Tyler, C=Connor, K=Kaya**

* * *

The next morning I woke up to my phone buzzing on my nightstand. I looked at my alarm clock. It read 8:05. I groaned and sat up against my headboard. Sawyer, Joey, and I stayed up so late last night, just talking about random things and putting, and organizing, my work stuff in the second bedroom, and I really wanted to sleep in this morning. I reached over and picked my phone up off of the nightstand. I unlocked my phone and looked at the messages icon. I had six- no eight new messages. I tapped on it and went to mine and Joey's conversation.

**J**: **Are you up?**

**J: Text me when you get up!**

**J: Girl, it's 8am wake up!**Whatever Joey wanted sounded important.

**K: I'm awake. What do you want?** I replied. I went back and tapped on mine and Sawyer's conversation.

**S**: **Whatever Joey says, don't listen to him**. I scrunched my face. That was a very weird text.

**K**: **Whyyyy?**I sent back and tapped on mine and Tyler's conversation.

**T**: **We should do a collab.**

**T: Ooh, we could do it on your new channel!**

**T: I hope you don't mind that Joey told me about your new channel…**

**K: Nope, not at all. I'd love to do a collab with you. Just let me know when, where, and what! :)**

After I sent that message, my phone vibrated. Joey had texted me back. I tapped on our conversation.

**J: I think someone likes you!** I rolled my eyes at his message. He has to be joking. I've only known a handful of people for a day or two. Who could possibly like me already? I dismissed his text and read the text I got from Connor.

**C: Hey Kaya, it's Connor. What's up? **I smiled. Finally a normal conversation.

**K: Hi Connor! Nothing, I'm just going to finish unpacking. What are you up to? **I replied. I got up and walked out to the dining room where the last remaining box was sitting in the corner. I set my phone on the table and opened the box. Inside were random things: games, stuffed animals, sports stuff. I took out my Penny Board and put it on the floor. My phone buzzed on the table. Tyler sent back an 'ok' and a smiley face. I tapped on the message Connor had just sent me.

**C: Have fun. Haha. Do you want to hangout later?**

**K: Yeah sure!** I replied. I put my phone back on the table and took the box into the loft and put my Penny Board in my closet. I heard my phone ringing and rushed back to it. It was Connor.

"Hello Connor." I greeted.

_"Hey. I was thinking we could go to Venice Beach and hangout."_ He said.

"Yeah, sure. That sounds great." I said. "Where do you want to meet? I could come over to your place and we could go from there."

_"Sure! I'll text you my address."_ He said enthusiastically.

"Okay. Bye Connor." I said and hung up. After Connor hung up he texted me his address. I put it in Google Maps and looked at the distance from my house to his, and from his house to the beach. He lived pretty close to the beach, so I could drive my car to his house and we could skate down to the beach. I texted him back.

**K: I'll be at your house around noon.**

**C: Okay. **I changed into my Starbucks crop top, jean shorts, vans, and put my hair in a bun. When I walked out of my room there was a knock at the door. I walked over and looked through the peep hole. It was Joey. I opened the door and he walked in.

"Hi Joey." I said. "Come in." I said as I closed the door. I turned to look at him. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing." He said with a shrug. "I can't hang out with my friend?" He asked me. I figured I would just cut to the chase and get to the bottom of his messages from this morning.

"Just out of curiosity, what the fuck were you talking about earlier?" I asked him. His eyes widened at my choice of words. Even I was shocked by what I said. I hadn't planned on cussing, it just sort of flowed out.

"I just think someone likes you. That's all." He said. Now I was really curious, there were only three people it could be if what he was saying was true: Connor, Sawyer, or him.

"Who?" I asked as I walked past him to go into the kitchen. "You?"

"Don't get me wrong, you're awesome and very pretty, but no." Joey said.

"Connor?" I asked. He shrugged. "Sawyer?" I looked up at Joey's face. His obnoxiously big smile confirmed that I had said the right name. "How do you know?"

"The looks. What he says, how he says it. What he does." Joey said and sat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"You mean you're telling me you haven't noticed the way he looks at you?" He asked me. I shook my head.

"No, not really." I said.

"Well, this may sound creepy, but I saw you the first day you moved in with your family. Sawyer mentioned that he saw a new car in the lot and a U-Haul and I told him that you moved in. He looked really excited. He asked me for details, and I told him the only thing I knew which was what you looked like. I told him about the people you were with, and that the two younger guys could either be brothers or one could be a brother and the other could be a boyfriend." He said. I nodded and he continued. "He looked really upset at the possibility of you having a boyfriend. And when we left yesterday he told me that he was glad that the guys I saw were your brothers. You don't have a boyfriend, do you?" He asked me.

"No, I don't." I told him.

"Good. Don't say anything about this to him. He will kill me if he finds out I told you." He said. This is probably why Sawyer hadn't responded to my text earlier.

"I won't tell a soul Joey." I told him.

"So what are you doing today?" He asked.

"I'm hanging out with Connor later and after that nothing." I said. I took the bowl of grapes out of the refrigerator. "Want some?" I asked him.

"Sure." I put the bowl next to his arm. "You want to make your first video for your new channel when you get back?" He asked and ate a grape.

"Um… Sure. What did you have in mind?" I asked and popped a grape in my mouth.

"The cotton ball challenge." He said.

"Yeah. Sounds like fun." I told him. He got up from the stool and took a handful of grapes, which was majority of the bowl.

"Well thanks for the grapes. Call me when you're on your way back. Nice chatting with you." He said as he made his way to the door.

"Okay, bye Joey." I said and closed the door after him. I went back into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. Is two days enough time to know you're into someone? I've said it before, and I'll happily say it again: Sawyer is very attractive. I may have a very miniscule attraction towards him, but I barely knew him. But I never thought it was possible to have feelings for someone so quickly. The way Joey told me made it sound like he was head over heels for me. I thought about the times that I had been with Sawyer during the past two days. Sure his eyes found their way to my general area, but I didn't think much about it. He eyed up the waitress at The Cheesecake Factory, he probably eyes a lot of girls up. Yesterday when I told everyone about my job, he clung to every word that I was saying. And when he put his hand on my waist, and smiled that gorgeous smile—

"No. I'm not going to think about this anymore. I'm going to push this out of my mind. If what Joey's saying is true and Sawyer really does like me, then he'll act on it." I told myself. I went into my room and grabbed my MacBook and the grapes off of the breakfast bar and went out onto the balcony. I browsed Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, and shopped online for a few hours. I looked at the time in the bottom corner of my laptop and shut it, it was 11:40. I placed it on my bed, got my phone, keys, sunglasses and Penny Board and left to go to Connor's. On the way there I stopped at Starbucks to get a drink. I texted Connor to ask if he wanted anything.

**K: Do you want a drink from Starbucks?**

**C: Sure! Can you get me a Refresher? Any flavor is fine. Thanks!**

**K: No problem.**

I got Connor a Valencia Orange Refresher and got myself a Very Berry Hibiscus refresher. I parked outside of Connor's house, got my phone, sunglasses, the drinks, and my Penny and walked up to the front door. I put the drinks and Penny Board carefully on the ground and knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal a guy with short dark hair and a cloud tattoo on his wrist.

"Hi." He said.

"Hey. Is Connor here?" I asked.

"Yeah, come on in. I'll go get him." He said. I smiled and reached down to grab the drinks and my board. "I'll get the drinks for you." He said.

"Thanks." I told him. I picked up my board and walked into the house. The guy led me into the living room. I sat down on the couch and put my board on my lap. He put the drinks on the coffee table.

"I'll go get Connor." He said and vanished up the stairs. I sat there spinning the wheels on the board. A few minutes later Connor came bouncing down the stairs. I set the board down and got up.

"Kaya!" He said as he walked over and pulled me into a hug.

"Hey Connor." I said. When he released me I handed him his drink. "I got you the orange kind."

"That's actually my favorite." He said with a smile. "Do you want me to pay you back?" He asked. I shook my head.

"My treat." I said. He took a sip.

"I guess I should go get my board." He pointed to my board on the floor.

"If you want to go via skating... I just thought it would be easier than trying to find a place to park." I told him. He nodded.

"I'll be right back." He said and went back upstairs. Seconds later he reappeared. I picked up my board and drink and we walked outside. We put our boards on the ground and started skating to the beach.

"I should've brought my camera." I said out loud, more to myself than to him.

"Why?" He asked as we rounded a corner.

"So I could take pictures and videos and stuff." I took a sip of my drink. We stopped at an intersection and pressed the button to cross.

"Gotcha." He said. "It's so nice out today." I looked up at the sky and nodded. Sunny and no clouds in sight, it was my kind of weather. The hand on the sign turned into a figured and we crossed the street.

"Yeah it is." I said. When we reached the boardwalk we picked up our boards and carried them. I thought about the guy I had briefly talked to at Connor's house.

"Hey Connor, who was that guy with the cloud tattoo?" I asked him.

"Dang it, I forgot to introduce you two. It totally slipped my mind." He said. "His name is JC. He lives with me. When we go back I'll introduce you to him. And Kian and Ricky if they're there." I nodded. We walked around on the boardwalk for a while and talked about our interests, like Connor's love for cats, our mutual love for Arizona tea, our favorite stores, and food. We made our way to the beach and sat on the sand.

"Let's take a picture." Connor said as he pulled out his phone. We scooted closer to each other and took a few pictures.

"Send me those." I told him. He nodded and sent them to me. We had the same idea and posted one of the pictures to Instagram. I posted one that we were smiling in, whereas Connor posted one where we made weird faces and looked goofy. The caption for my post read:

'Hanging at the beach today with connorfranta #venicebeach'

Connor's caption read:

'Spending the afternoon with the amazing KayaSandrino at Venice Beach! #awesomegirl'

We both liked each other's pictures. The comments for my picture were normal:

'have fun!', 'lucky, lucky girl', and of course someone had to post 'are you two dating? you'd be so cute together!' The last one didn't really surprise me. Connor had a lot of fans, so of course they'd question the picture. But for some reason, I decided to look at Connor's picture. Just to look at how many likes he would get on it from all of his fans. There were a lot of likes as well as comments. Those comments were a mixture of nice and not so nice:

'she's so pretty', 'is that your girlfriend?' and my favorite one 'is she your girlfriend? She's not even that pretty. You could do better.' Why did it even matter if we were dating or not? We're just friends.

"Wow. Who knew teenage girls could be so mean…" I said as I scrolled through the comments. He put his phone back in his pocket and reached over and grabbed mine. He closed the app and locked my phone.

"That's why you shouldn't read the comments." He said. I took my phone from him and put it in my pocket. I started drawing shapes in the sand next to me.

"If you could change one thing about anything, what would you change?" Connor asked me. I thought about it for a few minutes. There was a lot that I would like to change, or like to see change.

"Probably the way people think of or about people they don't know." I said. "What would you change?" I asked and looked over at him.

"Prices at Taco Bell." He said with a straight face. We both laughed. "No, but I'd probably change the same thing as you. People are way too judgmental nowadays and jump to conclusions way too fast and automatically assume things too often." He said and looked at me.

"Yeah." I said. "Do you want to go get something to eat?" I asked him.

"Sure. Taco Bell?" He asked. I shook my head.

"How did I know you would suggest Taco Bell?" I asked and chuckled. He smiled and shrugged. We stood up and wiped the sand off of us. We grabbed our boards and threw away our empty Starbucks cups and made our way to the nearest Taco Bell. When we were done we headed back to Connor's house. When we walked in, JC had just walked in from the back yard.

"Hey JC, are Ricky and Kian here?" Connor asked. JC nodded.

"Yeah, they're out back." He said. Connor put his free hand on my shoulder.

"I forgot to introduce you two earlier. Kaya this is Justin, but he goes by JC. JC this is Kaya." Connor said.

"Hi." JC said and waved. I waved back.

"Hey." I said. Connor put his board down and took mine and put it near his.

"Come on. I'll introduce you to Kian and Ricky." Connor said and led me out back. "Hey guys." He said. They both said 'hi'. One was in the pool and the other one was lying on a towel. The guy that was in the pool got out and walked over to us.

"Hello, I'm Kian." He said.

"Kaya." I told him.

"I'm Ricky!" The other one yelled from the towel.

"Nice to meet you both." I said. I stayed at Connor's house for about an hour. JC, Kian, and Ricky were pretty cool. I found out that they all had YouTube channels and were a part of a collab channel called 'Our2ndLife'along with two other guys, Sam and Trevor. Before I left, JC, Ricky and Kian gave me their numbers. When I got in my car I called Joey.

"Hey Joey, I'll be there in fifteen minutes depending on traffic." I told him.

"Okay. See you then, bye." Joey said. I said bye and hung up. When I got to my apartment I knocked on Joey and Sawyer's door. Joey opened it.

"Do you want to do this here or in my apartment?" I asked him.

"We should do it here." He said. I nodded.

"Okay. I'm just going to put my stuff in my apartment and I'll be right back." I said to him. He nodded and I went to my apartment and put my stuff on my bed. I grabbed my camera from the second bedroom. I walked back to their apartment and knocked on the door. This time I was greeted by Sawyer.

"Hey. Come in." He said. He was standing there in sweatpants. Just sweatpants. The view was nice. I admired his shirtless chest and felt his eyes on me. I had looked at his body longer than necessary. I raised my eyes to meet his. He smirked.

"Hello." I said and walked in. I saw Joey setting up the camera and lights. "We can use my camera." I said as I held it up.

"Okay, yeah. I guess that makes more sense since it'll be on your channel." He said. He took his camera off of the tripod. I walked over and set my camera up. Sawyer walked over with a frosty bottle. I looked at them.

"What's that for?" I asked them.

"Joey didn't tell you?" Sawyer asked. I shook my head.

"I thought we were doing the cotton ball challenge…" I said.

"We are." Joey said. "Just with a spin. We're going to do the drunk cotton ball challenge like Sawyer and Tyler did."

"Um, okay. That's fine." I said. Joey got a shot glass from the kitchen and walked back over to me. He set the shot glass on the floor next to the two chairs in front of the camera. Sawyer handed me the bottle of vodka.

"Thanks." I told him. He went over to the couch and sat down. I hadn't notice Joey go upstairs until he came back down with a bowl full of cotton balls. He went into the kitchen and got another bowl and a spoon. He walked back over to the chairs.

"Sit." He said and motioned to the chairs. I sat down and so did he. He placed the empty bowl and spoon on the floor, and kept the full bowl on his lap. Sawyer got up and turned the camera on and pressed record.

"Okay, it's recording." He said. He sat back down on the couch with Hitch. I started the video by making up an intro as I went.

"Hi everyone! Welcome to my second channel. For those of you who don't know me I'm Kaya Sandrino. Today I am joined with my friend Joey Graceffa." He waved to the camera. "And today for my first video for this channel, we are going to be doing the cotton ball challenge." He held up the bowl of cotton balls.

"But it's not just the normal cotton ball challenge." He said. We looked at each other and I shook my head. We looked back at the camera. "We are putting a little spin on it like Sawyer and Tyler did." I held up the bottle of vodka.

"Now, please if you are under the age of twenty-one, do not do this. We do not condone underage drinking." I said. Joey nodded. "Would you like to explain the rules?" I asked him.

"So each person will have to place an empty bowl on their heads and scoop cotton balls into the empty bowl, but you will be blindfolded while doing it. We will each get five scoops each. After the fifth scoop you have to guess how many you got into the bowl and if you get it right, the other person has to take the shot, but if you get it wrong, you have to take the shot. There will be three rounds each, so there's a total of maybe six shots in our bodies." Joey said. I set the bottle on the floor.

"I should probably take my hair down for this right?" I asked. Joey nodded.

"Yeah, the bun would get in the way." He said. I undid my bun and looked at Joey.

"Let's do this." I said. Joey pulled a scarf off of the couch. He tied the scarf around my eyes, careful to not get my hair caught in the knot.

"Okay so here's your bowl." He said. I grasped the bowl and held in on my head. "And the spoon." I took the spoon from him. He grabbed my hand and placed it over the bowl of cotton balls. "Okay. Scoop." I did.

"It honestly feels like nothing is on the spoon." I said as I raised my hand and poured whatever was or wasn't on the spoon into the bowl on my head. I could hear Joey and Sawyer chuckling. After my fifth scoop I put the bowl on my lap. "I'm going to say two. I think I got two cotton balls in the bowl." I untied the scarf and looked into my bowl and frowned I had gotten four into the bowl. Sawyer laughed.

"Guess who got more than two and gets to take the first shot?" Joey asked. He reached down and grabbed the shot glass and bottle. He poured me a shot and handed it to me. "Three, two, one, drink!" He said. I quickly gulped it down and cringed.

"Ugh. This tastes like shit." I said. "Remind me to bleep the expletives out." I told Sawyer. He nodded. I tied the scarf onto Joey and gave him the bowl and spoon. I held the bowl of cotton balls. His first scoop was unsuccessful. "Be careful Joey." I said.

"Shut up." He said. He moved the spoon back to the bowl. The next three scoops were successful; he got one on each of them. The fifth scoop however, was hilarious.

"Okay, now be careful, you're getting them on the floor." I said as he moved the spoon around in the bowl. He picked up the spoon and a mountain of cotton balls came with it. Sawyer and I had to stifle our laughter. Joey put the spoon down. "Okay so how many do you think you got in there?" I asked him. He removed the bowl from his head.

"I'm going to say five." He said.

"Wrong." I told him. "You got twelve." I said after counting the cotton balls. He removed the scarf. I poured him a shot. He looked at it with disgust. "Come on just drink it." He took it from me and drank it.

"That's so gross." He said. When all was said and done, I ended up having to take four shots, and Joey had to take two.

"So, now we all know how bad I am at this, and I'm never doing anything blindfolded again. And I also may be a bit tipsy." I said to the camera. "Well, thank you Joey for being the first person I had the pleasure to collab with, and thank you for watching this video. Be sure to give it a thumbs up, and subscribe to this channel and my main channel. I post videos on my main channel every Monday. Also subscribe to Joey's channel. He makes funny videos and he vlogs. All of the links to our channels and social media will be in the description so be sure to check those out. Also leave a comment telling me who you want me to do collabs with, challenges, and topics for non-collab videos. I love you guys, stay awesome." Joey and I waved to the camera and Sawyer shut it off.

"Well that was amusing to watch." Sawyer said. I got up from the chair and started picking up the cotton balls that had fallen on the floor. "You don't have to clean up. I can get those." He said to me.

"It's fine. I'm done anyway." I said and put them into the empty bowl. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail. I took my camera off of the tripod. "Well, I'm going to go eat something and lay down." I told them and walked towards the door. "Bye guys." I said. As I went to open the door Hitch walked over to me. I put my camera down and sat on the floor to pet him.

"He likes you." Sawyer said. I looked up at him and nodded. After a few minutes I got up.

"Well, I'm going to go now. Bye." I said.

"Bye." Sawyer said. I waved and walked out of their apartment to mine. When I got to my door I reached into my pocket for my keys, only to feel the lining of the pocket. I turned around and started walking back towards their door when Sawyer walked out.

"You forgot something." He said and held up my keys.

"Thanks." I said and took them from him.

"No problem." He said. We stood there awkwardly, neither one of us moved.

"Well, I should go edit this." I said. He nodded. "Bye." I said and waved. He waved back and I turned to go to my door. I unlocked it and walked in. I put my camera on my desk in the second bedroom and walked into the kitchen. I got a glass of water and made a sandwich. I sat down at my small dining room table and ate it. After I ate my sandwich, whatever buzz I had was gone. I got up and put my plate in the sink and went to go edit the video.

"I cannot believe I actually went through with this…" I said out loud as I watched the video. After editing, I uploaded it to YouTube which took forever and changed into my pajamas. I got my laptop and sat down on the couch and Skyped my mom for a while and went to bed.

* * *

**A/N: I have a Polyvore, so I thought I would actually use it since I haven't in a while. **

**Kaya's clothes for this chapter: ** venice_beach_with_connor/set?id=92496477

**And also, with the comments on the pictures, I hope you don't get offended, and if you did get offended I'm sorry... I really wasn't trying to be mean or offend anybody. But fangirls can get so mean, and possessive over someone they don't know, it's like asdfghjkl. Ugh, I can't. Sorry about my mini rant. I will update sometime next week. Usually I'd have the next two chapter written in my notebook, but I've had writers block so I'll work on the next chapter this weekend. -Katy**


	8. Author's Note

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a lovely day/evening.

Just thought I'd share my game plan with you guys so you didn't begin to think I forgot/lost interest about this story. I haven't and I won't.

I know I said I would update a while ago. I haven't had time due to course work. During my lunches and free time near the end of class (sometimes even during class) however, I've been brainstorming some ideas for future chapters. Some twists and turns that the story will take, and figuring out how fast/slow I want to go on the timeline. I've pretty much been designating every chapter thus far to one day in the time line. This story would go one _forever_ if I continued to do that, and get pretty boring to write and read. So I'll probably end up skipping a few weeks after I get finished writing the VidCon chapters. I'll probably alternate between chapters being consecutive days and then skipping some time in the time line. Chapter eight is almost complete. Some new people will be introduced in the upcoming chapters, a select few will get more insight into Kaya's family and friends state side and 'across the pond'. And an even more select few will gain insight into a few difficult things Kaya has had to face, both in her career and personal life. Might dabble in writing a few flashbacks and writing from new POV's. Some relationships will blossom; some will be tested. Some feelings will be shared that may or may not be reciprocated. Hate will be spread via the keys on a keyboard, feelings will get hurt, someone will swoop in to save the day. Tears will be shed, angry words will find their way through clenched teeth and fists may find their way to undeserving walls. Clothes and other items will be packed and given to their rightful owners. Heads will keep hearts from doing what they yearn to do. All in all, this story will get pretty interesting. I just hope that you all will stick around to see my scrambled thoughts transcribed. And I hope I can do all of my topics justice and not make the story seem unoriginal and boring to read. I always look forward to hearing what you have to say. Whether it's an idea you have that you'd like to see brought to 'life', your thoughts on a particular moment in the story, or simply something you think I should improve on in the upcoming chapters.

Oh, and I'd also like to take this time to thank every single one of you for reading, following, and favoriting this story, as well as commenting on it. You don't know how happy I get when I get an email saying someone has added it to their favorites and followed it or commented. It makes me feel so awesome. I'm glad to see that people like this story. When I first wrote it, I didn't think this would get really far or have many reads. But when I log on and see that the number of views has increased, even if only by one or two, it makes me want to continue writing and make the story , thank you so so so soooo much.

I've also compiled a list of songs that have found their way to being a sort of inspiration for some chapters/future ideas. So if you'd like, I could include those songs in the AN's of future chapters. Please let me know in the comments what you think.

Again, thank you for your support. I really appreciate it. I promise to upload chapter 8 within the next week. And if I don't, feel free to message me telling me to get my shit together and update. Like, I'm being dead serious. I'll probably forget because my teachers think it's okay to give me a shit ton of homework... So anywho... I'm gonna go. Thanks for taking time out of your day to read this.

Enjoy your day/night,

Katy


	9. Songs and Meetings

**A/N: Kaya's POV. Five days in one chapter…**

* * *

-Friday, July 26-

Thursday was kind of an uneventful day. Sawyer, Joey, and I went out for lunch and after that we went back to my apartment and raided my movie collection, watched some and talked about the meetings I had on Monday until about one this morning. When they left I passed out and was rudely awakened by someone banging on my apartment door. For some unknown reason I fell asleep on my couch instead of on my comfortable and warm bed. I got up and trudged over to the door. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock on my stove. It was 10, and this was probably the latest that I've slept in since I've gotten here. I opened the door to find a burly looking man with a full beard standing in front of me.

"Hello ma'am. My name's Darren and I'm with DirecTV." He said. He looked down at the clip board he was holding in his hands. "Are you Kaya Sandrino?" He asked.

"Yup." I told him. He looked back up at me.

"Okay. I will be back up with the stuff. What rooms would you like to be set up?" Darren asked.

"Two rooms: my room and the living room." I said. He nodded and made his way to the elevator. I pulled a chair over from the dining room table and propped the door open. I made my way to the balcony and opened the doors. A few minutes later, Darren returned with a dolly that held the satellite dish, receivers, and remotes. I stayed out of his way while he set everything up.

"Now, if you have any problems or questions, feel free to give this number a call and I'll come back out and see if there's anything I can do to solve the problem." Darren said as he handed me a slip of paper with a bunch of phone numbers on it. Thankfully he had highlighted the one he was talking about. "Do you need the program guide?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Nah, I had DirecTV back home. The channels are pretty much in the same order, right? Regardless of where you go?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much." He said. He put his pen and highlighter into his pocket and his clipboard under his arm. He grabbed the dolly and made his way to the door and I followed. I moved the chair out of the way. "Have a nice day." He said and walked to the elevator. Just as I was about to close my door, a little golden Pomeranian run up to me and sat at my feet.

"Hey Hitch." I reached down to pet him. Sawyer ran over to me.

"Thank god you were out here." He said and scooped Hitch up. "He never runs out of the apartment like that."

"He must really like me to stop and come over to me." I said with a chuckle.

"You want to go get some breakfast?" He asked as he pet Hitch's head. I looked at the clock.

"Um, it's nearly 11:30. By the time we get anywhere it'll be lunch time." I say. I hadn't realized that the DirecTV guy was here that long.

"Well, do you want to go grab some lunch?" He corrected himself. I shrugged.

"Why not. I'll go get changed and meet you in the lot." I said.

"Fifteen minutes?" He asked. I nodded and with that I closed my door and walked into my closet. I put on my 'Hipsta Please' cropped tank, jeans, and TOMS. I went into my bathroom and brushed through my hair. I brushed my teeth, got my phone, keys, and some cash and walked down to the lot. I leaned against the hood of my car until I saw Sawyer stroll off of the elevator.

"Where did you have in mind?" I asked as he made his way over to his car. He pressed the button on his key chain to unlock the doors.

"Is In-N-Out Burger okay?" He asked. I nodded. "Hop in." He said and got in his car. I opened the door and slid in. I loved his car.

"I'm so jealous of you." I said as we pulled out of the lot.

"How so?" He asked.

"You have an awesome car." I told him. I loved my car to death, but sometimes I just wanted to go faster. I've always been attracted to fast cars. My dream was to own either a cherry red Porsche or a bright yellow Lamborghini, but I had settled for a black BMW 3-Series for my dad's sake. Sawyer chuckled.

"You're jealous of my car?" He asked as we stopped at a stop light. He turned to look at me.

"Uh, yeah. Your car is awesome." After I said that we went into a conversation about cars: what cars we liked, our first cars, cars we wanted, cars we've had, we even talked about motors. I had never talked about cars so much in my life. The rest of the night was pretty much as uneventful as the previous night. I curled up on my couch with my MacBook, a cup of tea, and browsed social media until the wee hours of the morning.

-Sunday, July 28-

All day Saturday, and up until an hour ago, I locked myself in the second bedroom of my apartment and worked on my music. Tomorrow I have an interview with Interscope and Atlantic records. Since artists that I've worked with are signed to both of those labels, I really hope that I can make a deal and work for both. It's a long shot, but a girl can dream can't she? By 2:30 in the afternoon I made fifteen mixes: seven original mixes, three mash-ups, and five remixes of popular songs. I've never really been nervous for something like this, but I felt like I was going to be sick. I had to make sure that these sounded good. I took my Beats off and placed them on my neck and walked out of the room into my bedroom. I unplugged my phone from its charger and sent Sawyer a text message.

**K: Hey, can you come over? I made some mixes and I want some feedback. Oh, and bring Joey if he's home.**

**S: Okay. Be over in a sec.**

I slid my phone into the back pocket of my shorts and unlocked my door. I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I had just turned the faucet off when there was a soft knock at the door. I walked over and opened it. I motioned for Sawyer and Joey to come in.

"Thanks for coming over. I really appreciate it." I told them as I led them into my 'studio' room, grabbing a chair from the table on the way.

"No problem." Joey said. I opened the door to the room and walked in. I placed the chair in the middle of the room and sat at my desk. I opened the music folder and got up from the chair.

"You guys can sit." I said and motioned to my office chair and the one I had brought in from the dining room. Sawyer sat down in the chair that I had previously occupied, and Joey sat in the other one after moving it closer to the desk.

"So, what I have for you today is a lot of mixes. Like, fifteen." Their eyes widened. They probably thought I meant two or three mixes. "In between each tracks will be a short pause just so you can distinguish the tracks. The whole playlist is around an hour long, so I hope you guys don't have any plans within the next hour and a half."

"I don't. I don't know about him though." Joey said and pointed to Sawyer.

"I'm not doing anything." He said. A small smile spread across my face.

"Excellent." I adjusted the volume on my speakers and opened the playlist. "I'm going to be in my living room while you guys listen." I told them. They nodded and I pressed play. I exited the room and shut the door. I retrieved my MacBook from my room and plopped down onto my couch. An hour and ten minutes later, Sawyer and Joey came out and sat down on either side of me on the couch.

"Wow." Joey said. I turned and looked at him. "Really, you're very talented." I moved my MacBook off of my lap and onto the coffee table.

"Thanks." I said. "What did you think? Which ones should I use for my meetings tomorrow?" I asked them. Sawyer draped his arm over the couch; his hand fell just above my shoulder.

"I would say all of them," Sawyer said and moved his hand onto my shoulder. "But, I feel like the first original mix and the second remix would be the best ones to have them listen to." I nodded. The first original mix that they had listened to was one that I had made at three o'clock this morning. I didn't think it was my best, but the fast beat had kept me up. The second remix on the playlist was one of my favorites. I had taken 'Sail', my favorite song, and added more layers to the already good beat. It was one of my better pieces to date.

"I agree with Sawyer." Joey said with a nod. "What time are your meetings?" He asked me.

"The first one is at eleven and the second one is at two." I told him.

"Which label is first again?" Sawyer asked.

"My meeting with Atlantic is first and the meeting with Interscope is second." I said. The both nodded.

"Well knock 'em dead." Joey said. I chuckled.

"Thanks Joey." I told him. I got up from the couch and walked into my room and got my phone. I unlocked it and sat back down on the couch I had previously occupied. Sawyer's hand found its way back to my shoulder. Joey shot me look that was a mix between 'I told you so' and 'don't pretend like you don't like it'. I ignored him and opened the Instagram app on my phone. I really have an obsession with Instagram, like it's unhealthy. Half the time I don't post anything, I just search random hash tags and find new people to follow. I looked down at the notification that had popped up and tapped on it.

_" KristyRay1797 mentioned you in a comment: I spy with my little eye KayaSandrino and sawyerhartman getting lunch. Is it more than friendship? #kawyer #socutetogether"_. The picture was of Sawyer and I from lunch the other day. First it was Connor and now it's Sawyer. Sometimes I wish I could just go to lunch or hang our with someone without people thinking we were a couple. How I had not seen this mention the other day was beyond me. I left out a frustrated sigh. Sawyer turned away from the TV and looked at me.

"What?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Nothing." I said and went back to the main screen of the app and scrolled through the posts. Sawyer's eyes were still on me. He yanked my phone out of my hand and went back to the picture I had just looked at.

"I saw this the other day." He said and handed me back my phone. He didn't seem bothered by it like I was. "It's nothing. Just some people doing some shipping. It's harmless." I shrugged. We hung out for the rest of the day in my apartment. We ordered pizza around six for dinner. After Joey and Sawyer were done they left and I went to bed early. Tomorrow is going to be a long, nerve wracking, and stressful day and I need all the sleep I can get.

-Monday, July 29-

I woke up to my phone blaring One Direction's 'Kiss You' at 7 am. I got out of bed and took a shower. When I got out I put on a sweatshirt and a pair of sweat pants and ate breakfast. When I got done I went back into my bathroom and did my hair and makeup. I straightened my hair and applied a bit of eyeliner and mascara. When I got done doing that, it was 9:30 so I went into my closet and changed into a nice white top that I tucked into a black pencil skirt and stepped into one of my many pairs of black heels. I put on a sparrow necklace and a heart ring and sprayed myself with a bit of perfume. I grabbed a clutch bag and put my phone in it and grabbed my laptop bag off of the kitchen counter. I picked up my keys off of the coffee table and made my way down to my car. When I pulled out of the car park it was 10:10. I arrived at Atlantic Records at 10:40. I noticed on my way here that there was a Starbucks a block and a half down the road so I walked there to kill some time. I got an Iced Chai Tea Latte and walked back to Atlantic. When I got there, I pulled my phone out and looked at the time: 10:50. I walked inside and made my way to the front desk. The woman sitting behind it looked up from the computer screen.

"Hello, welcome to Atlantic Records I'm Kimberley. What can I assist you with today?" She asked.

"Hi, I'm here to meet with Alexander Brinson. My name's Kaya Sandrino, we have a meeting at eleven." I told her. She turned her face back to the computer and clicked the mouse and typed something.

"Mr. Brinson will be right down, feel free to take a seat until he comes." She said. I nodded once and sat down on one of the sofas in the front of the building. I felt my phone vibrate in my bag and took it out.

**S: Good luck today!**

I couldn't help but smile at the text Sawyer had sent me.

**K: Thanks!**

I put my phone back in my bag and looked up as a man wearing a dark gray suit walked out of the elevator. He walked over to the front desk and Kimberley pointed towards me. He smiled and said what I can assume was a good bye to Kimberley and started walking towards me. I stood up and smoothed my skirt.

"Hello Miss Sandrino, I'm Alex Brinson." He said and held his hand out for me to shake. I shook his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Brinson." I said and let go of his hand. He motioned for me to walk with him to the elevator.

"Please, call me Alex. Mr. Brinson is my father." I smiled and nodded at his remark. He pressed the button for the elevator, and almost immediately it dinged and opened. We stepped inside and he pressed the button for the fourth floor. The ride in the elevator was pretty quick, and quiet.

"I hope you don't mind that it won't be just me and you during this meeting." He said as we stepped off the elevator.

"Not at all." I said. I had to walk fast to keep pace with is long strides down the hallway. As we turned down another corridor, a huge conference room came into view. The wall facing us was made entirely out of glass and I could see at least four other people sitting at the table. When we reached the door, Alex opened it and we walked in. Sitting at the table were a few faces I recognized, some I didn't. Alex shut the door behind me and I adjusted my laptop bag on my shoulder.

"Good morning everyone, thank you for coming today. I'll start this meeting off by introducing you all." Alex said. He started at the head of the table and went clockwise. "Kaya Sandrino, this is my colleague Jonathon Weber, one of new interns Andrew Purnitz, Stefani Germanotta," He said and she waved, I waved back. "But of course you already know who she is. Next to her we have Alicia Monroe one of our sound techs, Marcus Aventon one of our producers, and Justin Miller who is also a producer here." He said. He took a seat next to Jonathon, and I sat in the empty seat across from him next to Andrew.

"What do you have for us today Miss Sandrino?" Jonathon asked. I pulled my MacBook out of the case and placed it on the table in front of me.

"I've prepared for you an original mix, and a remix of 'Sail' by Awolnation." I said as I navigated through the windows. I looked up at Alex over my laptop screen. "Do you have a speaker system set up in here?" I asked and he nodded.

"Right over there. You can use this plug right here." He said as he handed the cord to me. I took it and plugged it in.

"If you don't mind I'd like to play my original mix first and then the remix." I said. They all nodded and Stefani gave me a thumbs up. I adjusted the volume and pressed play.

They seemed to like it, their heads bobbed up and down, fingers were tapping on the table. After the 'Sail' remix was finished I closed my MacBook.

"You're very talented Miss Sandrino. Very, very talented. For someone your age to be able to write and produce hit songs in various genres is astounding." Jonathon said. The others all nodded.

"Thank you." I said.

"Now, I understand that you don't want to be tied to one label. Why is that?" Alex asked.

"I don't want to be confined to only the artists that are signed to this label. They are great artists, but I feel like if I were to be associated with more than one label, I could get more experience in more genres." I told them.

"I understand. I also feel like Andrew, Alicia, Marcus and Justin can learn a lot from you. And Stefani speaks highly of you." Jonathon stated. Stefani nodded.

"She's one of the most talented and dedicated writers and producers that I've had the opportunity to work with." She said. Alex and Jonathon nodded.

"Well Miss Sandrino," Jonathon started. He leaned forward in his chair, resting his folded hands on the table. "When can you start?"

The next meeting went the same way. I'd be starting at Interscope and Atlantic Records next week after VidCon. So far life in LA wasn't too bad. When I got home, I immediately changed into yoga pants and a tank top. As I walked into the kitchen to get a drink, I heard my phone buzz in my handbag. I pulled it out and unlocked the screen. I tapped on the messages icon.

**S: How'd the meetings go?**

**K: Let's just say you, Joey, and I can go out for celebratory drinks later if you feel up to it…**

I put my phone on the counter and got a glass from the cabinet. I filled it halfway with water and took a sip. A few seconds later there was a knock on the door. I put the glass on the counter and opened the door, only to be picked up and spun by two strong arms.

* * *

outfit: atlantic_interscope_records/set?id=95117524

**Stefani Germanotta = Lady Gaga**

**Yay! I managed to update before the end of the week! Woot woot!**


	10. Trying to Fit In

**A/N: A continuation of previous events. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Congratulations!" Sawyer said. I giggled.

"Thanks, but can you please put me down? I'm kind of dizzy." I said. He muttered a 'sorry' and put me back on my feet. He fixed the beanie that he had on and shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweat pants.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so excited for you." He said as a smile slowly appeared. "Have you told your family yet?" I shook my head.

"No, not yet. I was going to Skype my mom in about an hour to tell her." I said as I walked past him and into the kitchen to retrieve my drink. "I still haven't gotten used to the whole time change thing. I keep forgetting that it's three hours later on the east coast." He nodded in agreement and leaned against the refrigerator.

"Yeah, I had that problem when I moved here from Florida. But you get used to it after a while." He told me. "So, where did you have in mind for drinks later?" I shrugged.

"Don't know. I was kind of hoping you had some suggestions." I told him and took a sip of my water. "Although I did happen to see a few clubs down the road today when I was going to my meetings…"

"There's a club down the street called Elixir. We could go there." He suggested. I nodded.

"Sounds good. Well, I'm going to go Skype my mom. I'll see you later." If I wasn't mistaken, it seemed like Sawyer didn't want to leave, nor did he move from his spot against the fridge. "Or you can stay and be bored." I said as I refilled my glass.

"I'd rather be bored than have to listen to Joey play Minecraft." He said and chuckled.

"Suit yourself." I said and went into my room to retrieve my MacBook. When I came out of my room Sawyer was sprawled out on one of the couches, clicking through the channels. As I got comfortable in the armchair, he finally settled on a movie I've seen one too many times, embarrassingly enough. "You're watching Magic Mike when I have every single channel?" I asked him as my laptop booted up. He shrugged.

"Eh, there's nothing really on." He said and looked up at me. "Unless you want to watch South Park."

"Magic Mike is fine." I told him. I clicked on the Skype icon and selected my mom's name. A few moments later her face appeared on the screen.

**Sawyer's POV**

I'm kind of glad I chose to be bored over listening to Joey scream and shout at his computer screen. Kaya's apartment had a relaxing feeling to it. Or maybe it was just being around her that made me feel relaxed. I was on edge all day hoping her meetings would go well, that she'd get the job at both labels. I was really falling for this girl. And I've only know here for a week. If you would have asked me two weeks ago if I believed in love at first sight I would have laughed and said no. But now I think I did. When I first laid my eyes on her, my heart began to race and my hands got sweaty. That never happens to me. I didn't find her 'hot' or 'sexy', I found her beautiful. Her eyes were like emeralds, shiny and vibrant. She wasn't as tall as Joey had estimated, probably five-seven, but that was fine. And her smile... Don't even get me started on her smile, or the way she moved her hands when she talked. I'm pretty sure I'm starting to get on Joey's nerves. She's all I talk about, as weird as that sounds. Yeah, I think I'm really falling for Kaya… Hard.

"You're watching Magic Mike when I have every single channel?" She asked, snapping me out of my thoughts and bringing me back to reality. I shrugged.

"Eh, there's nothing really on." I told her. I actually didn't know if there _was_ anything on. I was too preoccupied with my thoughts to pay attention to what the channel guide had displayed. "Unless you want to watch South Park."

"Magic Mike is fine." She said. She looked down at her Mac and tapped on the mouse pad. After the Skype tone stopped, her face lit up and a smile spread across her face.

"Hey mom!" She said as she waved.

_"Hello darling, how are you?"_ Her mom's thick accent rang through the room. I was surprised that Kaya didn't have an accent too. Sure she used 'British' words at times instead of 'American' words when she talked, but if she hadn't told us that she was from England, then I would've just assumed she did that to be cool or something.

"I'm great mom. How's everyone else?" She asked.

_"Ashton's doing good. I think he's going to propose to Sydney. I saw him looking at rings online the other day when he came over."_ Kaya made a 'humph' sound and raised an eyebrow. It seemed like she didn't like this Sydney that her mom was talking about. _"Alex is being Alex. Although he misses you a lot."_

"Really?" Kaya asked. "Alex said he misses me?" She looked shocked at the comment.

_"Yes Kaya, your brother misses you. He told me so yesterday. Wanted to know when we could come out to visit." _Her mom said laughing. Kaya smiled.

"Huh. Um, well I'll have to think about that. Make sure my schedule isn't too full." She said.

_"What do you mean 'make sure your schedule isn't full'?"_ Her mom asked her. Kaya's face lit up again.

"I got the jobs mom. I actually got the jobs." She said. She bit her bottom lip, as if she were trying not to cry.

_"Kaya, I'm so proud of you. I'll be right back; I'm going to get your father." _Kaya nodded and wiped her cheek.

"You okay?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah, it's just finally sinking in that I got the jobs. That's all, but thanks." She said. I nodded.

_"Kaya, I'm so proud of you. My baby girl is going to take the world by storm."_ Her father's accent was thick.

"Dad…" Kaya said, her cheeks began to blush.

_"What? It is true. You will be the producer everyone will want to work with. There will be a line of people at your door waiting to get the chance to work with you."_ He said. _"Who did you meet with?"_ He asked.

"Alex Brinson at Atlantic and at Interscope I met with Joshua Sternburg." She said.

_"Ah, Alex is a good friend of mine. You will be in good hands. Joshua however, I have not gotten the chance to speak to."_ Kaya nodded. She talked to her parents for a while. At 6:30 she said goodbye and shut her laptop.

"When do you want to go to Elixir?" She asked me.

"Figured we could leave at 8:30." I told her and she nodded. I hung around for another hour and took that opportunity to ask her more about her and her family. "What was it like, growing up that is?" I asked her. My questioned seemed to throw her off guard. She moved her MacBook to the coffee table and moved in the chair so her legs were dangling off the side of the chair.

"It was hectic, fun… hard." She said and smiled. "I never really got to see my father often because of his traveling while we lived in England. But when we moved to New York, I saw him more. It was hard for my mom though, because even though my father was around more, she was still basically raising three kids on her own while trying to juggle the demands of being the go-to jewelry designer for the elites of Hollywood." She looked down at her hands and began picking at the polish on her nails. "I was twelve and I had to cook dinner for me, Ashton, and Alex while my parents were at some Gala, or fancy party, or-or some famous person's house. Needless to say I had to grow up fairly quickly. Now that I think about it, I was kind of a second mom to Alex as he was growing up. I also got picked on relentlessly in school." Hurt flashed in her eyes. I opened my mouth to say she didn't need to continue, that she could stop if her talking about this would make her sad or uncomfortable, but she continued talking. "The kids at my school always asked me why I talked differently, why I used weird words." She let out a laugh laced with sadness as she rested her head against the chair. "Hell, even the teachers were mean to me. I sat in my room at night and watched TV until my mom or dad came in telling me to go to bed, trying to train myself to talk like everyone else. I just wanted to fit in. I didn't understand why people could be so mean. I thought I did something wrong." A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly. I wanted to get up and go over to hug her, to tell her that those kids were just being rude and that she shouldn't have had to make herself like everyone else. But I didn't get up. Instead I listened to her as she told me everything, trying to fight back tears of my own. "As you can tell, I successfully trained myself to sound American. When I turned fifteen I finally had it with those kids and practically begged my parents to move. We did and I started my freshman year of high school at a medium sized school in Annapolis, Maryland. I fit in there. Yeah, there were cliques, but I didn't fall into one. I was friends with everybody. People there actually found it cool that I was from England, and said that it was horrible that I tried so hard to fit in at my school in New York. They told me to drop the American accent, but I grew accustomed to it. Sometimes I fall back into my English accent, but it's very seldom that I do. Eighty percent of the time it happens when I'm either in England, or talking to family and friends from England." She said. She looked up from her hands to me, our eyes locked on each other.

"I'm sorry." I told her. She opened her mouth to speak but I held my hand up and she closed it. "I'm sorry for everything that you went through when you were younger. I'm sorry you had to grow up so quickly. I'm sorry that people didn't love you for who you were. I'm sorry that you never got to see your father. But I'm not sorry for what I'm about to tell you." Her eyebrows furrowed and I sat up, moving to the other end of the couch closest to the chair she was sitting in. "You are one of the most amazing people I have ever met, and those kids in New York missed out on getting to know who you really are." A small smile found its way to her face.

"Thanks Sawyer. You really know how to make a person feel better." She said. After that I hugged her and left to go get ready for Elixir. As soon as I opened the door to my apartment, I was greeted by Hitch. I picked him up and carried him up to my room.

"Hey." Joey said as I walked past his room. I stopped and poked my head into his room.

"Hey. What's up?" I asked him.

"Nothing. You were over there for quite a while." He said. I pushed the door open a little more and walked into his room.

"Not really. Only for a few hours." I told him. He looked at me like he wanted to say something else but didn't. "We're going to Elixir at 8:30 if you want to join us."

"Why?" He asked.

"She got the jobs. Duh..." I said.

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone, I hope everyone's Friday the 13th was okay. Mine was very uneventful and nothing 'unlucky' happened. So, since I can't figure out how to get the links to the outfits I made on Polyvore to work, I made a Tumblr that I have posted them onto. The Tumblr will serve two purposes:**

**1. To showcase the outfits for various occasions throughout this story, and**

**2. I will also be making it Kaya's 'blog' so to speak. So that means that 'she' (I) will be following and reblogging YouTubers as well as 'fans' (if you guys want that is. If not that's cool too.). I'll also be writing blog posts that won't be written into the story, that will exclusively be on the blog. So yeah.**

**Where to find me/Kaya on Tumblr: .com**

**Enjoy. I'll try to update ASAP.**

**-Katy**


	11. What Happened Last Night?

**A/N: Skips events at Elixir, though there will be flashbacks. And also, if Kaya's blog comes up at any point in the story from this point forward, go check it out because there will most likely be an accompanying blog post (or a few). Also If I go into detail about what she's wearing there will be an accompanying post for that as well... Italicized passages are flashbacks.**

**Tumblr username for those of you who would like to follow it and be updated: .com**

* * *

I woke up the next morning, my head pounding and the bright sunlight shining through the windows on the far side of my room. I got out of bed and walked over to them, closing the curtains. I looked down and realized that I was still wearing my dress from last night. I walked out of my room and into the bathroom, only to be scared by my reflection in the mirror. My hair was wild and tangled, and my makeup was smudged. I turned on the shower and waited for the steam to fill the bathroom before stripping out of my dress and stepping into the shower. The hot water instantly relaxed my sore muscles. My mind was a blur, and I hoped my mind would soon be unclogged and I could remember the events of last night. I vaguely remembered getting ready last night and I definitely didn't remember coming home.

As I rinsed the shampoo from my hair, the beginning of the night came flooding back into my mind.

_As soon as Sawyer left I took a shower, painted my nails, and curled my hair. I took awhile to contemplate what I would wear and settled on a black dress that I had bought before I moved here. It was very pretty; it had a lace overlay. I wasn't sure as to why I had bought it. It was kind of an impulse buy. At 8:29, there was a knock at the door. I walked out of my room and over to the door and opened it, revealing a very well dressed Sawyer and Joey. They were both in similar outfits: a button down, nice jeans, and nice shoes._

_"Hey, you ready to go?" Sawyer asked. I nodded._

_"Yeah, I just need to get my shoes and stuff."I left the door open and walked back into my room and into my closet. I pulled out a pair of black and gold pumps. These were also an impulse buy. I've never worn them, but they looked cute and they were on sale. I slipped them on and grabbed my clutch, I.D, some cash and my phone. I walked back out and got my keys off of the coffee table. When I walked back to the door, Joey was looking at his phone and Sawyer was eyeing me up and down._

_"Take a picture. It'll last longer." I said as I shut and locked my door. I heard Joey chuckle and started walking towards the elevator._

I turned the shower off and walked out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me. I combed through my hair and brushed my teeth. I got dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a shirt that Ashton got me when he went to University, picked my phone up off of the nightstand, and sat down on my couch. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

_"Can I get three shots of the strongest stuff you have?" Sawyer asked, practically yelling over the loud music. The bartender nodded and poured us three shots and slid them across the bar top. Joey, Sawyer and I each took one. "To Kaya." Sawyer said. He brought the shot glass up to his lips and tipped his head back. He swallowed the bitter liquid like a champ, while I grimaced at the burning sensation as it made its way down my throat. Joey on the other hand looked like he would be sick._

_"Congrats on the jobs girl." Joey said. I smiled._

_"Thanks Joey!" I told him. After a few more shots, Sawyer grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the dance floor. We danced for what seemed like ages. At one point Sawyer and I walked outside to get out of the cluster of hot and sweaty bodies. I leaned against the brick building as Sawyer stood in front of me._

_"Where'd Joey go?" I asked him._

_"Back home." He said with a shrug. He moved closer to me. There was now only about a foot of space between us. His eyes moved from my eyes to my mouth, back up to my eyes. He closed the distance and pressed his lips to mine. His right hand rested on my waist as his left hand cupped my face._

"Whoa." I said and rubbed my temples. This cannot be happening. Maybe if I act like nothing happened, Sawyer won't bring it up. Throughout the day, I tried to keep my mind occupied with other things, and tried not to dwell on Sawyer kissing me. Don't get me wrong, if last night would've happened six months down the road, I would be fine with it. But it happened not even twenty-four hours ago, and I still didn't know how I felt about Sawyer. Around seven, I noticed that I hadn't gotten the usual 'what are you up to' or 'whatcha working on today' texts from Joey or Sawyer.

As much as I really didn't want to do this, I knew I had to. It had been bothering me all day, no matter how hard I tried to not think about it. I had to know why he did that. I paused the movie that I was watching, unlocked my phone and composed a message to Sawyer.

**K: Can we talk?**

It took Sawyer longer than I had imagined to respond to my message.

**S: Sure. What about?**

**K: Last night…**

**S: Yeah. Come over in ten minutes?**

**K: Okay.**

Ten minutes later I got up from my couch and went into my closet to find a pair of shoes. I slipped on a pair of TOMs and put my phone in my pocket. I grabbed my keys and walked over to Sawyer's. Even though the apartment complex was safe and sound, and I probably wouldn't be at Sawyers for more than twenty minutes, I still felt iffy about leaving my door unlocked. Especially at night. When I walked up to his door, I knocked and waited patiently. I could hear Hitch barking on the other side of the door. A few moments later the door opened.

"Hey." Sawyer said.

"Hi." I said. We stood there awkwardly before Sawyer spoke up again.

"Come in." He said as he opened the door wider. I stepped into the apartment and turned around to face Sawyer. "About last night, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. It just kind of happened." What did he mean 'it just kind of happened'? You don't just kiss someone without some kind of warning, or without thinking about doing it. Plus, I had _way_ more to drink than he did, so if he tries to blame it on intoxication, I'd call him on it. If anyone was going to blame anything on alcohol, it would be me. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, choosing my words carefully.

"Look Sawyer, it's okay. But, you honestly expect me to believe that you didn't know what you were thinking and that it just happened?" I asked him. He nodded.

**Sawyer's POV**

Ugh… Why is she so good at seeing through my lies? Of course I was thinking when I did that. But I wasn't going to tell her that. I, Sawyer Hartman, have never felt this way so quickly about a girl in my life. The best way to go about this whole situation was to just stick to what I had told her so it wouldn't get weird between us. I don't want to lose her as a friend over something like a tiny kiss. She sighed.

"Okay. Well, just don't let it happen again." She said and I nodded. _Note to self, don't kiss Kaya until we are in a relationship. _Yeah, I'm pretty confident. As long as I show her how amazing I am, she'll surely agree to becoming my girlfriend.

"Promise." I told her.

**Kaya's POV**

"Promise." He said. After that I left and went back to my apartment. As soon as I plopped onto my bed, I remembered that I had to pack for VidCon. I groaned and got back up. I brought down my suitcase from the loft and piled clothes into it. I knew that if I waited until tomorrow to do it that it would never get done and I'd just end up shoving random articles of clothing into the suitcase before walking out the door on Thursday.

As soon as I zipped up my suitcase, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I looked at the lock screen and saw the message was from Joey. I unlocked it and went to the message.

**J: Are you going to VidCon?**

**K: Yup. Why?**

**J: WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me?**

**K: It never came up in a discussion…**

**J: We should totally drive there together.**

**K: Sure…**

I shook my head and laughed. Joey was something, let me tell you. I turned on the 'do not disturb' feature on my phone and put it on my nightstand and got under the covers. A few minutes later I fell into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

**Pretty much just a filler chapter, but the kiss will be referenced in upcoming chapters. However, I did just write a pretty emotional chapter. It won't be uploaded for a while though. You'll just have to wait and see... Mwahhaha... **


	12. VidCon Adventures: Day One and Two

**Tumblr account: kayasandrinooutfits**

* * *

-Thursday, August 1-

_Maybe it's the way she walked,_

_Straight into my heart and stole it_

"Ugh, shut up Harry…" I said into my pillow as I tried, and failed, to get my phone to stop playing the song that I've had on repeat since it came out. I groaned and got up, snatching my phone off of the nightstand and turning my alarm off. I walked into the bathroom to take a shower, do my hair and brush my teeth. About an hour later I stepped out of the bathroom, my hair straight, and into my closet. I pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and a black crop top with white flowers on it. I put my black TOMs on and closed my closet door. I put my MacBook in its carrying case along with its charger and my phone charger. I packed my camera in its bag and got my headphones. I walked out of my music room and over to the door. I had my camera bag on one shoulder and my laptop bag on the other. I slid my phone into my pocket and grabbed my keys and suit case. As soon as I locked my door, Joey emerged from his apartment carrying his own bags.

"Hey!" He said once he got closer to me.

"Hello." I said and smiled. "Tell me again why we're leaving so early…" I told him as we made our way to the elevator.

"I didn't get to properly congratulate you on Monday," He said with a shrug. "So I thought we could go out for breakfast. My treat." We walked off the elevator and towards my car. I hit the button on my key ring to open the trunk. We put our bags in and got in the car.

"Where to?" I asked as I pulled out of my parking spot.

"There's a place near the hotel that I had in mind." He said. "I'll tell you where it is when we get closer." I nodded.

"It's right over there." Joey said, pointing into the distance.

"IHOP?" I asked. I saw him nod his head out of the corner of my eye. "There's one by the apartment Joey…" I said as I pulled into the surprisingly sparse parking lot.

"I know. But this way we can eat as much as we want and not have to worry about being uncomfortable in a car." He had a good point. I turned the car off and we got out and walked into the restaurant.

"Hello, welcome to IHOP. How many will be joining you?" The girl asked as we approached her.

"Just us two." Joey said. The girl nodded and grabbed two menus.

"Follow me." She said. She led us towards the back of the restaurant. "Booth or table?" Joey looked at me and I shrugged.

"Booth please." Joey told her. She nodded and placed the menus on the table of the booth.

"Your server will be right out to take your order." She said with a smile and walked back to the front. Joey and I took our seats and began looking at the menu.

"Good morning, I'm Michael and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with something to drink?" He asked as he took a pen and pad of paper out of the little apron he had tied around his waist.

"I'll have water." Joey said and went back to looking at the menu. Michael looked at me.

"Hot tea, please." I told him. He nodded.

"I'll be right back with your drinks." He said and went into the kitchen.

"What are you going to get?" Joey asked me as he set his menu down on the table.

"I don't know. The strawberry stuffed French toast looks really good. What about you?" I asked him.

"An omelet. You know how much I love my eggy-anyas." He said and I laughed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michael walking over to our table holding a glass of water and a mug. He sat them down on the table.

"Have you guys decided on what you would like to eat or would you like a few more minutes to decide?" He asked as he reached for his pen and paper.

"I'll have the strawberry stuffed French toast." I said and closed my menu. Michael wrote it down and looked at Joey.

"I'll have an omelet with tomatoes, spinach, and green peppers." He said and handed the menu to Michael. He picked mine up and nodded.

"I'll go put your order in." He said and walked away.

"That food was so good." Joey said as we made our way to the front desk of the hotel with our bags.

"I know. It was like biting into a piece of heaven." I said. When we reached the desk, the woman who was sitting there looked up from the computer.

"Names?" She asked, getting straight to the point.

"Kaya Sandrino." I told her. She typed away and nodded once.

"Two beds, second floor, three nights?" She asked, confirming the reservation I had made. I nodded and she handed me two room keys. Joey looked at me weirdly but turned to the woman.

"Joey Graceffa." He told her.

"Two beds, first floor, three nights?" She asked. Joey nodded and took the room keys from her.

"Why did you get a room with two beds?" He asked me.

"They didn't have any more rooms with only one bed." I said. "Plus, if anyone gets sick of the person they're rooming with they can always come to my room." I added.

"True." He said and we parted ways. As soon as I entered my room I put my bags on the second bed. I unzipped my laptop bag and pulled out my MacBook and its charger. I plugged it in and sat on the other bed and went on tumblr and twitter. I was on the internet for an awfully long time and thought I'd take advantage of the weather and go to the pool. I changed into my light blue floral bikini and put a tank top and pair of shorts on over it. I grabbed my towel, and put my sunglasses, phone, headphones, and key card in my bag.

When I got to the pool, I placed my bag next to a chair. I messed about with the chair until it was completely flat and smoothed the towel over it. I took my shorts and tank top off and laid down. I put my sunglasses on, my headphones in and turned on Pandora on my phone. I must have fallen asleep at some point; because when I woke up I was laying on my stomach and the sun was beginning to set. I got up and gathered my things, put my shorts on, and walked back into the hotel. When I got back up to my floor I noticed a few people standing outside the door of my hotel room, knocking on the door. I pushed my sunglasses onto the top of my head and cleared my throat.

"Can I help you?" I asked. The people who were standing around it turned around.

"Where've you been?" Joey asked me. I tugged on the straps of my rucksack and looked down at my attire.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked. He looked down.

"Oh. Well, we've been calling and texting you for hours." He said. Sawyer nodded.

"Yeah, we wanted to know if you wanted to go grab something to eat with us." Sawyer said.

"Sorry, I haven't checked my phone." I looked down and hit the 'home' button and nothing happened. "I didn't know you were trying to reach me because it's dead." I said and held up my phone.

"Well, we're leaving in a few minutes if you want to go." Joey said. I nodded.

"Yeah. Just wait here. I'll be out in a minute." I said and swiped the key card and went into my room. I quickly changed back into the clothes I was wearing earlier. I put my phone on the bed and put my key card in my pocket. I walked into the hallway and Sawyer, Joey, and I walked to the elevator. "Where are we going?" I asked as the doors closed. They shrugged.

"We were just going to walk around and find somewhere to eat." Sawyer said.

"How did you guys know what my room number was?" I asked.

"We charmed the girl at the front desk." Joey said. I shook my head and chuckled. Sure enough we walked around for awhile, scoping out places to eat. We finally settled on a diner that looked pretty sketchy on the outside, but had killer food.

"Is the convention center still open? I forgot to get my badge and whatnot." I looked over at Joey and Sawyer.

"It should be. It's only 7:30." Sawyer said. We went to the convention center and thankfully it was still open. Since they had already gotten their badges earlier in the day, I went in and got mine.

"Hi, are you Kaya?" Someone asked me as I was signing in. I turned around and looked at the group of people behind me.

"Yeah." I said with a smile.

"Oh my gosh! Can we have a picture?" One of the girls asked. I nodded and they handed one of the workers their phones. I ended up taking a picture with the whole group and each girl individually.

"Thank you so much!" They said as we walked out of the convention center.

"No problem." I said and waved. I walked over to where Joey and Sawyer were standing.

"First fan encounter?" Sawyer asked as he put his phone in his pocket. I nodded. "You just made their day." When we got back we said good night to each other and went to our rooms. As soon as I walked into my room I changed into pajamas and went to sleep.

-Friday, August 2-

I woke up the next morning at six and showered. When I wrapped the towel around me, I hissed in pain. It dawned on me that I had indeed gotten sunburn while lying outside yesterday. I normally didn't forget to put at least a low SPF sun block on, but yesterday it completely evaded my mind and I laid out in the sun for a good four or five hours. Luckily the sunburn wasn't noticeable thanks to my already tanned skin. I groaned and changed into a beige cropped sweater, white high-waisted denim shorts, and a pair of Converse. I brushed through my slightly wavy hair and brushed my teeth. I grabbed my rucksack and placed my notebook, key card, sunglasses, and head phones in it and shrugged it on. I grabbed my phone off the dresser and unplugged it from the charger. I placed my badge around my neck and walked out of my hotel room. I bypassed the elevator and took the steps down to the lobby and sat in one of the chairs. It was only eight, and the first meet and greet didn't happen until nine, so I messed around on my phone and watched people enter and exit the hotel. I was looking down at my phone when I heard a group of people walking by and laughing. I looked up and locked eyes with one of the guys in the group: Marcus Butler. I quickly looked down and silently fangirled in my mind. I may be an adult, and he may just be a YouTuber, but he's one of my absolute favorite YouTubers ever. The laughter faded out as they walked out of the hotel and I heard someone walk up behind me.

"Whatcha doing?" Sawyer asked, nearly scaring me to death.

"Nothing really." I said. "What are you doing?" I asked him as he walked around the chair to stand in front of me.

"I was going to head over to the convention center and walk around." He said and ran his hand through his hair. "Would you like to join me?" He asked.

"Sure." I said and stood up. We started walking out of the hotel when he turned to me.

"Is this your first time to VidCon?" He asked. I nodded. "Awesome. It's insane. There are so many people."

"I've heard." I told him. "I just hope I don't get trampled or anything." He laughed.

"You won't. You might get hugged a lot, but not trampled." He said and looked down at me again. "I won't let that happen." He said in a serious tone. We looked at each other for a few seconds before turning our heads forward. As we got closer to the convention center, I could see the massive amount of people standing outside.

"You weren't kidding." I said as we walked into the building. We started walking around the convention center and stopped when someone shouted Sawyer's name. He turned around while I continued looking at the display in front of me.

"Hey man. How are ya?" Sawyer asked.

"I'm good mate. How are you?" They asked. I could identify that voice anywhere. I had looked the person in the eyes not even half an hour ago. "Who's your friend?" I turned around.

"I'm Kaya." I said and held my hand out. He took my hand in his and shook it.

"Marcus. Nice to meet you." He said and let go of my hand. "Wait, you're the girl from the lobby of the hotel this morning." I nodded.

"Yup." I said and shoved my hands into the pockets of my shorts. I stood there awkwardly as Sawyer and Marcus carried on a conversation about, of all things, the weather. After standing there for a while I decided I would continue and explore the rest of the convention center. "I'm going to go walk around some more." I told them.

"Okay. I'll text you in a bit and meet up with you and we can walk around together. Okay?" Sawyer asked. I nodded and waved goodbye to Marcus and Sawyer and continued walking around.

Ten minutes later I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I heard the loud hum of voices entering the convention center. I pulled my phone out and opened the message from Sawyer.

**S: Hey, meet me by the giant shark in the middle of the expo hall.**

**K: Okay, be there in a few minutes.**

I put my phone back in my pocket and made my way to the expo hall and began my search for Sawyer's quiffed hair.

"Oi, mate, she's over there." I heard someone say. I turned around and looked towards the direction the voice came from. I saw Sawyer standing near the mouth of the shark with a few other people. I walked over.

"You literally walked past us twice." Sawyer said and draped his arm over my shoulders.

"Sorry, I couldn't see you." I said and looked around at the people, recognizing all of them.

"So, this is Alfie, Zoe, Louise, Jim, Tanya, Joe, Sam, and of course you know Marcus." He said as he pointed to each of them. "This is Kaya, my new best friend." He said and pulled me closer to him. I waved at them.

"Hello." I said to them.

"I really love your earrings." Louise said. My hand instinctively went up to my ear and played with my camera earrings. "Where'd you get them?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I got them for my birthday this year." I said.

"So, when is everybody's singings?" Jim asked.

"They're all tomorrow Jim." Tanya said.

"Right. Forgot, sorry." He said.

"Want to just walk around?" Alfie suggested. Everyone nodded and we walked around the expo hall.

"So, you and Sawyer…" Sam said. I shook my head and he smiled.

"We're just friends." I told him and grabbed onto the straps of my bag.

"So that means that I have a shot then?" He asked. I laughed and shook my head again.

"Not a chance." I said and walked to the front of the group next to Zoe. I looked back and Sam's eyebrows were raised. I guess he doesn't get turned down a lot.

"I'm hungry…" Sawyer said. The group nodded in agreement.

"IHOP?" Marcus suggested. There was a chorus of 'yeah's' and 'okay's' and we walked out of the convention center and started walking to the IHOP near the hotel.

"Hey, do you want to go somewhere else to eat?" Sam asked me. "You didn't look so excited to hear 'IHOP'." I shrugged.

"Sure, why not." I said and tapped on Sawyer's shoulder. "Sam and I are going to go find somewhere else to eat. I don't really feel like having IHOP for lunch."

"Okay. We're probably going to go back to the hotel and hang out when we're done. I'll text you." I nodded and walked over to where Sam was standing. When I reached him, he put his arm over my shoulders.

"I think we're going to get on well." He said in a chipper tone.

"What makes you think that?" I asked as we crossed the street.

"I just know it." He said. "Even if you do play hard to get, I'll get ya." I scoffed.

"In your dreams Pepper." I said to him.

"I hope." He said with a cheeky smile. I shrugged his arm off of my shoulders and put more distance in between us. I've heard about Sam. In his videos he's funny and charming, but I've heard that he can be a bit of a… Player? I don't even know if that's the right word for it. It didn't help that he was really good looking.

"What will I have to do to get you to realize that we'd be perfect together?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I dunno." I told him, and it was the truth. I sort of had a really huge crush on him, and I wasn't about to let him swoop me off my feet after having just met him. "We'll hang out for awhile, and if I like you enough and you don't get on my nerves, we can… give it a shot." I told him and his eyes lit up.

"Awesome." He said as we entered a restaurant neither of us had heard of before. We simply ordered salads and ate them in silence. And it was the dreaded awkward silence.

"So, if we're going to be hanging out quite a bit, I think getting your number is in order." Sam said as we walked out of the restaurant. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and replaced his with mine in his hand. I entered my number and gave it back to him. He finished typing and slid my phone into my pocket.

"Thanks." I said. "So, since I haven't gotten a text from Sawyer yet, I'm going to go back to the hotel and lay down. I'll see you later." I said and started walking ahead of him, when he pulled on my wrist.

"Mind if I come with you?" _Yes, I do mind actually._ I sighed.

"Sure." I told him and we walked back to the hotel. When we reached my hotel room I put my bag near the door, grabbed my MacBook and went to lie down on my bed. Sam sat down on the other bed and looked at me.

"What?" I asked him as I logged onto Tumblr.

"You're very pretty." He said and I rolled my eyes. "No, seriously, I'm not joking."

"Thanks." I said.

"Have you never had anyone tell you that and mean it or something?" He asked. I really didn't want to go down memory lane right now.

"It's not that. I just don't want to talk about it." I said. He looked at me with a confused expression, and I hoped he wouldn't press the issue. Thankfully he didn't. We sat in my room for a while and talked for a while. Well, more like he talked and I listened. I was relieved when Sawyer finally texted me.

**S: We're at the hotel now. Come down to mine and Joey's room?**

**K: Sure, what's the room number?**

**S: 112**

"I'm sorry to say this, but our bonding time has now ended." I told him as I closed my laptop and got up. I took my room key off of the dresser and placed it in my pocket.

"I have to leave so soon?" He asked. I nodded and he sighed. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Sure." I said and opened the door to my hotel room and ushered him out. I walked down to Sawyer's room and knocked on the door. I was about to knock again when the door swung open.

"Hello, and welcome to chateau Hartceffa. Please, come in." Sawyer said. I looked around his room and saw everyone from earlier plus a few more people sitting around. I walked in and gave a slight wave to them. Jack and Finn Harries looked up from their laptops.

"Hello!" They said simultaneously.

"I'm Jack, and this is Finn." Jack said.

"Nice to meet you both." I said and turned to Sawyer. "How was IHOP?" I asked.

"Great. I ate so much food though." He said and put a hand on his stomach. "You want to play a game?" He asked and I nodded. He pulled me further into the room and got everyone's attention.

"Now that Kaya has joined us, how 'bout we play a little game." He said. At the mention of a game, everyone looked up from what they were doing and listened intently. "We can start off with 'truth or dare', and make our way to a riveting game of 'would you rather'." He said. Everyone nodded.

"I'll go first!" Jack said. "Finn, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Finn said. Jack thought about what he would have Finn do.

"Do your best impression of someone in this room." He said.

"Hello!" Finn said, doing his best at impersonating Marcus' intro for his videos. Marcus laughed and shook his head. Finn looked around the room and his gaze settled on me. "Kaya, truth or dare?"

"Truth." I told him.

"Do you have any hidden talents?" He asked me. I thought for a minute.

"Not really, but I used to do gymnastics up until I turned nineteen." I said with a shrug. "Sawyer, truth or dare?"

"Dare." He said.

"I dare you to take a thirty second ice-cold shower. Fully clothed." He frowned and sighed.

"Fine." He said and got up from his position on the floor. I got up along with Marcus, Tyler, and Joey to watch and make sure he actually did it. He turned the water on and waited. He counted down from tree and jumped in under the water. He let out a yelp once the freezing water seeped through his clothes. After the thirty seconds were up, I handed him a towel. "I'm totally going to get you back." Sawyer said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Marcus, Tyler, Joey, and I walked out of the bathroom. Sawyer got a change of clothes and changed into them quickly and rejoined the group.

The game went on for a while. Sawyer picked Joey. Joey picked Zoe. Zoe picked Marcus. Marcus picked Alfie. So on and so forth. It was almost like they forgot that I was there, but I didn't mind. I was never one to play 'truth or dare'. Not because I was afraid of what people would ask or dare me to do, but because I could never think of anything for other people to do.

"Kaya, truth or dare?" Joe asked.

"Dare." I told him. He tapped his finger on his chin while he thought of something.

"I dare you to go outside and perform a gymnastics routine." He said and pointed out of the sliding glass doors that led out to a large courtyard area. I got up from my spot on Joey's bed.

"Would you mind if I borrowed a shirt?" I asked Joey. "Seeing as I can't exactly tuck this in." I said and pointed to my cropped sweater.

"Here." Sawyer said and handed me a shirt. I took it and walked into the bathroom and quickly changed. I walked out to see everyone waiting outside. I followed suit and walked to the far end of the courtyard. I tucked the shirt into my shorts, got a running start and did a routine I had done countless times. When I stuck my last front tuck, I caught my breath and walked over to them.

"You're really good." Marcus said.

"Thanks." I said, still out of breath. We all went back inside and played more games. At ten I picked up my sweater off of the bathroom counter and went over to Sawyer.

"I'm going to head back to my room. I'm kind of tired." I told him. He nodded.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe we could go to breakfast?" He asked.

"Sure." I told him as we walked to the door.

"You never cease to amaze me. First your career, and now I find out you're one of the best gymnasts I know." He said. I chuckled.

"I'm not that good, but thanks." I told him.

"Well, goodnight Kaya. See you bright and early tomorrow morning." Sawyer said and gave me a hug.

"Goodnight Sawyer." I said and made my way upstairs. When I got in my room I immediately logged onto Tumblr and blogged my little heart out.

* * *

**I obviously do not own "Best Song Ever". Well, I do techinically seeing as I have it on my phone, but I don't own the rights to it or anything. Isn't my best chapter, but I swear they'll get better and more interesting.**

**Oh, and there will be a blog post on "Kaya's" tumblr following the upload of this chapter. It'll be titled: Torn.**


	13. She's so fit

**A/N: Friday in Sawyer's POV**

* * *

-Friday, August 2-

I woke and just laid in my uncomfortable hotel bed for a bit and stared up at the ceiling. In all honesty, I was excited for today. I get to see all my friends that I haven't seen in a while and I was stoked. I rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom and went through my morning routine: take a shower, brush my teeth, wash my face, and do my hair. When I walked out of the bathroom Joey was still sound asleep, which was unusual since he's always the first one up. I changed quickly and quietly and slipped out of the room and down to the lobby. I needed to get some food in me, and fast. As I strolled into the lobby I noticed Kaya sitting in one of the chairs. She looked up and quickly snapped her head back down to whatever was in her lap. I followed her previous gaze and saw Marcus and the rest of the 'British Crew' walking out of the hotel. I walked over to the small table of food that the staff had set out and grabbed a donut, devouring it quickly. I walked over to where Kaya was sitting.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked her. She jumped up and clutched her hand to her chest. I must have scared her… Oops.

"Nothing really. What are you doing?" She asked as I moved to stand in front of the chair.

"I was going to head over to the convention center and walk around." I told her. I subconsciously ran a hand through my hair. "Would you like to join me?" _Please say yes. I really don't want to walk around alone._

"Sure." She said as she stood up. We made our way out of the hotel as I thought of something.

"Is this your first time to VidCon?" I asked and Kaya nodded. A small smile found its way to my mouth. This was going to be an experience to remember. Sure, VidCon may not be on the same level of awesome as some other things I'm sure she's done, but it was an awesome experience nonetheless. "Awesome. It's insane. There are so many people."

"I've heard. I just hope I don't get trampled or anything." She said, looking down at her feet as we walked. I couldn't help but laugh at her. At the sound of my laugh she looked up at me.

"You won't. You might get hugged a lot, but not trampled." I told her. I looked down at her. Her green eyes captivated me. "I won't let that happen." I mentally face palmed at my statement. We looked at each other for a bit and snapped our heads forward. I was really trying to not make things weird, but I'm pretty sure I just did the opposite and did in fact make it weird.

"You weren't kidding." She said. I looked up and saw that we were walking into the convention center. We started walking around when I heard someone call my name. I turned around to see Marcus walking toward me.

"Hey man, how are ya?" I asked him.

"I'm good mate. How are you?" He asked me. I shrugged and he shifted his attention to Kaya. "Who's your friend?" Kaya turned around slowly.

"I'm Kaya." She said and they shook hands.

"Marcus. Nice to meet you." He said. "Wait, you're the girl from the lobby of the hotel this morning." He said and she nodded, muttering a 'yup'. She stood there next to me and looked down, finding something interesting in her Converse as Marcus and I talked.

"The weather is _so_ much better here. It's been raining everyday for the past week in Brighton." Marcus said.

"That really sucks man. Maybe you should move to the states." I suggested. He shrugged.

"I'm going to go walk around some more." Kaya said.

"Okay. I'll text you in a bit and meet up with you and we can walk around together. Okay?" I asked her and she nodded and waved. She turned and started walking into another portion of the building. As soon as she walked out of sight, more people joined me and Marcus and we chatted for a bit.

"So who was she exactly? She didn't really talk much…" Marcus said.

"Kaya's my new next door neighbor. She just recently moved in." I said and he nodded.

"Wait, who moved in?" Zoe asked me. "Is she pretty?" A small smile found its way to my face and I nodded. "Go on, show me a picture then." She said. I went on my phone and tapped on the Instagram icon and found her account and handed Zoe my phone. She scrolled through the pictures.

"She's absolutely gorgeous!" She said. Louise and Tanya, who were looking over her shoulders, nodded in agreement. Sam grabbed the phone out of her hand and looked for himself.

"She's really fit…" _Yeah, I know. Now please stop looking at her like she's a piece of meat. _I snatched my phone out of his hands and glared at him. A cocky smirk appeared on his face.

"So, how has everyone been?" Zoe asked, starting up a conversation. We all caught up and when I saw the doors start to open, we walked into the expo hall and I sent a text to Kaya.

**S: Hey, meet me by the giant shark in the middle of the expo hall.**

**K: Okay, be there in a few minutes.**

I kept looking around the large room for her. I groaned as I saw tons of girls with brown hair walking around. I finally saw her and called her name but she didn't hear me and kept walking. She walked past again, but this time she was closer to us. I went to call her name again but Sam spoke up.

"Oi, mate, she's over there." Sam said. Kaya's head turned towards us and she walked over.

"You literally walked past us twice." I told her and put my arm over her shoulders.

"Sorry, I couldn't see you." She said and looked around.

"So, this is Alfie, Zoe, Louise, Jim, Tanya, Joe, Sam, and of course you know Marcus." I said and pointed to everyone, even though she probably already knew who everyone was.

"Hello." She said waving.

"I really love your earrings. Where'd you get them?" Louise asked. Kaya played with one of her earrings before answering her.

"I got them for my birthday this year." She said. Louise looked upset that Kaya didn't know.

"So, when is everybody's singings?" Jim asked us.

"They're all tomorrow Jim." Tanya said with a smile.

"Right. Forgot, sorry." He said.

"Want to just walk around?" Alfie asked. We all agreed and started walking around. I walked in between Joe and Jim in the middle of the group. Kaya walked behind Marcus and Alfie with, much to my disappointment, Sam. I faintly heard the ending of their conversation.

"So that means that I have a shot then?" He asked. I stiffened and clenched hands at my sides. I heard Kaya laugh. _Please say no. Please say no_.

"Not a chance." She said and brushed past me and stood next to Zoe who was in the front of the group with Louise and Tanya. I smirked.

We walked around the convention center twice. We got stopped a lot by fans that asked for a picture, for us to sign stuff, or just to chat. Kaya was the most popular out of the group. I guess it was because this was her first time coming to VidCon. But I started to get jealous when a lot of _male_ fans asked her for pictures. I just want her to be mine already. I groaned as another guy walked up to her and asked for a picture and kissed her cheek at the last minute before the picture was taken. Everyone turned to look at me with a confused expression on their faces.

"I'm hungry…" I lied. I was relieved when everyone nodded and agreed to Marcus' suggestion of IHOP. As we walked out of the building and down the sidewalk, a felt someone tap my shoulder. I stopped and turned around.

"Sam and I are going to go find somewhere else to eat. I don't really feel like having IHOP for lunch." I frowned slightly at her statement.

"Okay. We're probably going to go back to the hotel and hang out when we're done. I'll text you." She nodded and I watched them walk away, his arm slung over her shoulders. I frowned again and ran to catch up with the others.

We were at IHOP for a really long time and when we returned to the hotel I was glad. My reactions to the male attention Kaya received today were the topic of discussion amongst everyone at lunch, and I was glad that they had all finally let it go. Everyone shuffled into my room and I pulled my phone out.

**S: We're at the hotel now. Come down to mine and Joey's room?**

**K: Sure, what's the room number?**

**S: 112**

There was a knock on the door a few minutes later and I jumped off the bed and went over to the door.

"Hello, and welcome to chateau Hartceffa. Please, come in." I said. I closed the door and Jack and Finn introduced themselves to Kaya. Kaya waved and turned to me.

"How was IHOP?" she asked.

"Great. I ate so much food though." I told her and rubbed my stomach. "You want to play a game?" She nodded and I pulled her behind me into the middle of the room.

"Now that Kaya has joined us, how 'bout we play a little game." I said. Everyone looked up at me as I continued talking. "We can start off with 'truth or dare', and make our way to a riveting game of 'would you rather'."

"I'll go first!" Jack said. "Finn, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Finn said. Jack thought about what he would have Finn do.

"Do your best impression of someone in this room." He said.

"Hello!" Finn said, doing the worst Marcus Butler impression I've ever heard. Marcus laughed and shook his head. "Kaya, truth or dare?"

"Truth." She said.

"Do you have any hidden talents?" He asked her.

"Not really, but I used to do gymnastics up until I turned nineteen." She said with a shrug, not mentioning that she was a beast at making music. "Sawyer, truth or dare?"

"Dare." I told her confidently.

"I dare you to take a thirty second ice-cold shower. Fully clothed." I frowned and sighed.

"Fine." Marcus, Kaya, Tyler and Joey all got up. I didn't need four people to watch me to make sure I actually did it, but I didn't say anything. As soon as I got under the cold water I instantly knew I'd have to get Kaya back at some point. "I'm totally going to get you back." I got a change of clothes and changed out of my wet ones quickly and rejoined the group, returning to my position on the floor next to my suitcase. The game went on for what seemed like forever, and I watched as everyone seemed to forget about Kaya being here. It was my goal to get her back the next time it was my turn.

"Kaya, truth or dare?" Joe asked. I looked at Joe and Kaya.

"Dare."She said. Joe thought for a moment on what he would have her do.

"I dare you to go outside and perform a gymnastics routine." He said. He pointed behind him to the courtyard that my room opened up to.

"Would you mind if I borrowed a shirt?" She asked Joey. "Seeing as I can't exactly tuck this in." I reached into my suitcase and pulled out a clean shirt for her to wear.

"Here." She took it and walked into the bathroom while all of us walked outside and waited for her. She walked out of the room and to the far right of the courtyard, her ponytail swishing behind her with each step she took. She tucked my shirt into her shorts and started running. She did a lot of flips, twists, and jumps, and it made me dizzy watching her make her way from one end of the courtyard to the other. When she did her last flip, she stood there for a minute, catching her breath. My mouth, along with the others', hung open slightly. That girl's talent will be the death of me, I swear. Marcus was the first one to speak.

"You're really good." He said. I nodded.

"Thanks." She said, still a little out of breath. We all filed back into my room and played a few more rounds of truth or dare. Instead of playing 'would you rather' like we had planned, we decided to play 'who am I?' a game that Zoe suggested that consists of impersonating people. It was really fun to play.

"I'm going to head back to my room. I'm kind of tired." Kaya said to me, her sweater in her hand. I looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was a little after ten. I nodded and got up.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe we could go to breakfast?" I asked her.

"Sure." She said. When we reached the door, I couldn't stop the words I had been thinking from coming out of my mouth.

"You never cease to amaze me. First your career," I said in a hushed tone, not wanting the others to hear and start questioning her. "And now I find out you're one of the best gymnasts I know." Kaya chuckled.

"I'm not that good, but thanks." She said. I shook my head.

"Well, goodnight Kaya. See you bright and early tomorrow morning." I said and hugged her.

"Goodnight Sawyer." She said and left. It seemed like by Kaya leaving, it all dawned on everyone that it was starting to get late. By eleven it was just me and Joey in the room, getting ready for bed.

"I think everyone loved Kaya. Especially the girls." Joey said as he walked out of the bathroom. I nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, what's not to like? She's very personable." I told him. "I think it'd be hard to not like her."

"Yeah, but I have a question." He said his tone serious. I looked up at him and he took my silence as a cue to keep talking. "How do you feel about Sam? I saw you two exchange a few… Tense glances today, and dare I say that you were jealous?" He asked.

"You caught me Joey." I told him. "I am jealous. There, I said it. I have feelings for Kaya that I can't even explain. I get this… this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever we touch, or whenever she says my name. I get lost in her eyes… I—"

"You love her." Joey said. I looked at my hands that were rested in my lap and shrug.

"Yeah, I guess so." I told him.

"Sawyer, it's okay. You just have to make her realize that she feels the same way." He said. I looked up at him.

"What?" I asked him, confused.

"I can tell she feels the same way. I can see it in her eyes. She just doesn't want to admit it, yet. And I understand why too, she doesn't want anything to be weird between the two of you if things don't work out like expected." He said. He turned the lamp on the nightstand off and got under the covers. "Goodnight Sawyer."

"'Night Joey." I said and tried to go to sleep, instead I kept replaying Joey's words in my head. At around two in the morning, I finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Might be a while (a week, maybe a week and a half) before I update again... School, ya know? Anyway, thanks for reading you guys!**


	14. Fans, Feels, and Jealousy

-Saturday, August 3-

After finally admitting to myself that I had an attraction to both Sawyer and Sam, I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned for a good portion of the night, my mind going a mile a minute trying to wrap itself around my confession. At one I finally fell into a restless sleep. My phone vibrated on the nightstand at five, signaling that it was time for me to get up. I trudged to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I walked over to my suitcase and changed into a tank top and a pair of running shorts. I stepped into my tennis shoes, got my phone and headphones, and my room key and made my way down to the hotel's gym. I had to do something to occupy myself, and working out was the best way I knew how to. I walked out of the elevator and over to the front desk.

"Good morning, could you point me in the direction of the gym please?" I asked the woman behind the desk.

"Go down that hallway; take the last right and the first left." She said. I thanked her and followed her instructions and eventually found the gym. I put in my headphones and walked over to the mirrored wall and took a picture for Instagram. I know probably no one cares about what I do during the day, but why not? I added the caption 'at the gym trying to clear my head' to the picture and uploaded it. I made my way over to the treadmill and got lost in my music. I ran until my legs were screaming in pain, begging for relief. I brushed the hair that had fallen out of my ponytail away from my face and went over to the mats in the corner. I laid down in front of the mirrored wall and began doing sit ups. I was glad that I had the gym to myself this morning; I didn't have to wait for people to finish using the machines that I had my eye on. After losing count, and the battle with my mind, I laid flat on my back looking up at the ceiling. My chest rising and falling rapidly with every breath I took. I don't understand why my mind can't just pick one guy and be done with this internal battle. My rational side is campaigning for Sawyer, while my reckless side is screaming for Sam. I groaned and sat up. I pulled my hair out of its ponytail and raked my hands through it. I got up from my position on the mats and walked back up to my room. I took a quick shower and changed into a dress with a coral bodice and an 'Aztec' patterned flowy skirt. I put on a pair of gladiator sandals and my London ring and went to blow dry my hair.

When I was done there was a knock on the door. I walked over and opened it. Sawyer was standing there in jeans and a snug t-shirt, sporting a snapback and his trademark smile.

"You ready?" He asked. I nodded and grabbed my bag that had everything I would need in it and walked out of my room. "You look nice today." Sawyer said.

"Thanks." I said as we entered the elevator. "When's your signing?" I asked him.

"Well I have a meet-up at two with Joey and Luke. So that kind of counts as a signing I guess." He said. "When's yours?"

"At noon." I told him. "I'm kind of nervous though. I get all weird when I'm nervous. I start to stutter and get flustered and… It just gets bad." I let out a sigh and Sawyer rubbed his hand up and down my back, sending a pulse of electricity through my body.

"You'll be fine. You were fine yesterday, and if you could deal with the madness of being bombarded while walking around you'll definitely be fine at your signing." He said, instantly making me feel more at ease. When we walked out of the hotel, his hand had moved from my back to my waist.

"So, where are we going?" I asked him.

"Do you remember that diner that you, Joey, and I went to?" He asked me and I nodded. "That's where we're going. Is that okay with you?" He asked and looked down at me.

"Yep." I said, popping the 'p'.

"So how was your lunch with Sam yesterday?" Sawyer asked out of the blue. I looked up at him.

"It was fine. Why?" I asked, already knowing the answer that he wouldn't tell me: he was jealous.

"No reason. I was just wondering." He said, his eyes averted my gaze.

"Mmhmm…." I said.

"Thank you, have a nice day!" The woman said as Sawyer and I walked out of the diner. I looked at my phone and saw that Sawyer and I still had some time before either of us had to make our way to our designated areas for today's events.

"What do you want to do until we need to be at the convention center?" I asked him and he shrugged.

"We could walk around and head back at eleven." He said.

"Sounds good." I said and we began walking, the destination a mystery. After walking for a while, Sawyer and I found ourselves walking around in a park. The birds were chirping and the sun was out. Those two things alone were all it took for me to drown out the noise of the busy street and the hustle and bustle of the city. I found a bench and sat down. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, soaking up the sun.

"This is pretty peaceful." Sawyer said. I picked my head up and nodded. I looked over and saw that he was twirling a daisy in his hands. He tore a good majority of the stem off and placed the flower behind my ear and gave me a small smile. _There goes that feeling again_. "I think we should head back, it's getting close to eleven and there's more foot traffic now." He said as he got up from his spot of the bench. I nodded and got up, following him out of the park. We made it back to the convention center at 11:30.

"I think I'm going to go to the place where my signing is and wait behind the curtain." I told him once we entered the building.

"Do you know how to get there without being seen?" He asked me and I shook my head. "Put your badge on and follow me." He said. I did as he said and followed him to a back hallway. We flashed the guard our badges and made our way through the building. Sawyer pushed a door open and I could hear the hum of people talking.

"Thanks." I said. He nodded and walked away in the direction of the mass of people. As soon as he stepped out from behind the curtain that was blocking their view, the crowd of people erupted into screams and cheers. He looked back and winked at me before walking out of my sight. I saw a chair to my right and took a seat, waiting for someone to come over and tell me it was time for me to go out there. Twenty minutes later there was a tap on my shoulder and I looked up from my phone.

"You can go out now." A man with a headset said. I put my phone in my bag and got up. I walked over to the curtain and pulled it open. _Holy shit_. I thought. There were so many people waiting in line. I really didn't think I could do this. I can't sign my name and whatever else they want me to sign for this many people. In school I never finished essays because my hand would always cramp… I pushed those thoughts away and smiled. I waved to all the people who were standing in line and screaming. I sat down in the chair and people started coming forward, one by one.

I signed so many things; phones, shoes, shirts… You name it, I signed it. I also took so many pictures. Not even half way through the signing my hand started to cramp, making my usually flawless signature look like chicken scratch. I was looking down massaging my hand when I saw a notebook placed in front of me. I grabbed my pen.

"Hey sweetie, what would you like me to write?" I asked as I signed my name.

"So we can give each other pet names now, _honey_?" I looked up to see Sam standing in front of me, a smug smirk plastered on his face.

"Sam, what are you doing here? Can't you see I'm busy?" I asked him and gestured to the line of people waiting for him to move. He shrugged and walked around the table and sat in the seat next to mine. The signing continued and thankfully my hand got accustomed to the amount of writing. Of course people got the added bonus of having Sam sign their stuff if they wanted, even though he had his own this morning.

"Hi. I really like your videos. Both of yours." A girl said. I finished signing my name and looked up. She was the last person in the line.

"Thanks. What's your name?" I asked her.

"Amelia." She said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you Amelia. How do you like VidCon so far?" I asked.

"It's amazing. It's my first time actually. When I heard that you would be hear I begged my mom to buy my a ticket." She said. I was about to comment when she spoke up again. "I ship you two."

"Excuse me?" I asked. I could see Sam grinning out of the corner of my eye.

"I ship you. I saw you guys walking outside yesterday and my feels were all just like…. Going crazy. I've watched your videos for a while and I've always thought you would be cute together." She picked up her note book. "Bye, and thanks for the signature." She said and walked away.

"We should just skip the getting to know each other and hanging out phase and just jump right in to a relationship." Sam said. I scoffed. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"What?" I asked him as I gathered my things.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked again. "I mean, I think we know enough about each other just by watching each other's videos. We can have like a uh, twenty-questions thing or something. Take things slow"

"What the hell. Why not." I said and grabbed my phone. We started walking and he put his arm over my shoulders.

"Are you going to the party tonight?" He asked me.

"I don't know. Are you?" I asked and looked up at him. He nodded. "Then I guess I'll go." I told him and he smiled.

"Good. I can't wait." He said. "Actually, let's not go to the party and go somewhere else."

"Where did you have in mind?" I asked. He smirked again.

"That is for me to know and for you to find out." He said. He removed his arm from my shoulders and kissed my forehead. "I'll be at your room at nine. Wear something nice." And with that he walked away leaving me standing in the middle of the crowded hallway. I turned and started to head towards where Sawyer's meet-up would be when I stopped and saw him. His face was hard, emotionless. His blue eyes like ice. I started walking towards him.

"Hey. What's up?" I asked.

"What was that about?" He asked, his voice filled with anger and jealousy.

"Nothing. Why?" I asked. I was curious as to why he would ask such a question, aside from the obvious reason.

"He's not a good person Kaya. He may be charming and look like he'd care about you, but he's a dick once you get to know him." Sawyer said, his voice monotone and his face still emotionless.

"I think I'll be the judge of that." Before I could stop myself, I asked him a question that I didn't know how he'd respond to. "Are you jealous of him Sawyer? Are you mad that it's him and not you?" He looked above my head, not meeting my gaze.

"I'm just looking out for you." He said. His cold eyes finally met mine. "You'll understand soon enough. You're attractive, and he only wants one thing. If he doesn't get it, he'll leave and won't think about your feelings. He's a heartless person once you get to know the real Sam Pepper." I looked at him, mouth open slightly and eyes wide, shocked that he'd say such a thing about someone I thought he was really good friends with. Before I had a chance to respond he turned and walked off towards his meet-up. I looked around, wondering if people had witnessed our conversation. Luckily people were walking and talking, minding their own business. I turned and walked out of the convention center back to the hotel. When I reached the hotel, I pulled my phone out. Once again I was torn. I needed to get out of this and fast.

**K: I'm not feeling well. Maybe we can go out another time.**

**Sam: That's a shame. Anytime is good for me.**

I stepped off the elevator and went to my room, plopping down on my bed. It was only two and I didn't know my way around. I also couldn't go outside of my hotel room because I didn't want Sam to see me and question my health. I'd just stay in here until tomorrow morning when Joey and I would leave.

* * *

**A/N: So this was kind of a bipolar chapter… Sorry about that. But the bipolarness will lead to some….. ****_Interesting _****stuff. So stay tuned. -Katy**


	15. First Day

-Sunday, August 4-

The next morning I got up and brushed my teeth and hair. I changed into a sweatshirt and skinny jeans, pulling on my Converse as well. I packed my bag and grabbed all of my stuff and left my hotel room. I went to the elevator and made my way to Joey's room. Once I was in front of the door I knocked on it and waited. The door opened, revealing a very tired Joey.

"Are you ready to leave? I know it's earlier than we both agreed on, but I just need to get out of here." I said. Joey rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Just give me ten minutes and I'll be out." I nodded.

"I'll be waiting in my car." I said. He nodded and closed the door. I went to the front desk and checked out of the hotel. I put my bags in the trunk and waited for Joey.

"Hey, I hope you don't mind if Sawyer joins us. He asked and I couldn't really say no." Joey said. I looked over Joey's shoulder and sure enough Sawyer was walking over to my car, suitcase in hand and face expressionless.

"Not at all." I said with a fake smile. Joey put his and Sawyer's bags in the trunk and they got in the car; Joey in the passenger seat, Sawyer in the back. I started the car and plugged in my phone to the audio jack and turned the volume up halfway.

"So, how was your first time at VidCon?" Joey asked and turned in the seat to face me. I shrugged.

"Good, I guess." I said. Sawyer let out a bitter laugh and said something under his breath. I looked at him in the rearview mirror. "What was that?" I asked. He shook his head and looked out the window.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." He said. Joey gave me a weird look which I chose to ignore. He picked up my phone and scrolled through my songs.

"You have a very diverse playlist." He said and sat my phone down.

"Yeah, I like a little bit of everything." I said and turned onto the highway. The rest of the ride was uncomfortably silent. When I parked in my spot next to Sawyer's car I was relieved. Sawyer was the first to get out of the car and retrieve his bag from my trunk and stomp over to the elevator, not bothering to wait for us.

"What's going on between you two?" Joey asked as I grabbed my laptop bag and closed my trunk.

"He's just being an ass." I said.

"Why?" He asked and pressed the button for the elevator.

"Sam." It was the only thing that I said, and as I saw Joey nodding, I knew it was the only thing that needed to be said regarding the issue.

"He'll let it go eventually." Joey said as we reached my door. "Until he does, I'll just have to deal with his grumpiness." I sighed.

"Just tell him that I'm sorry. I don't want there to be any problems, I don't want him to hate me. I would still really like to be friends." I said as I raked my fingers through my hair. That is if he'll stop acting stubborn and jealous long enough to hold a conversation with him.

_Then you should've picked him, and not the other one._ My conscience told me.

"It'll be fine. Just give him time." Joey said and walked to his door. I unlocked mine and walked inside, setting my bags down and immediately going into the other bedroom. I shut the door and put my Beats on. I turned the machines and computer on and let the music I was making relax me.

I woke up the next morning to my phone ringing on my nightstand. I pressed 'Accept' and brought my phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Kaya! Good morning! I was just calling to tell you that there's no need to get dressed up for work today. Come dressed casually. I'll see you at seven!" Alex said and hung up. He was way too happy for this early in the morning. I put my phone on my nightstand and got up from bed. I went to my kitchen and ate a bowl of cereal. When I was done I took a quick shower and blow dried my hair, letting it fall in soft waves. I walked into my closet and pulled on my lavender skinny jeans and silver TOMS. I looked through my shirts and pulled on a white shirt with 'I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby' written on it. It was a line from one of my favorite songs by Wheatus. I grabbed an old grey sweater and a beanie, knowing that I would get cold in the building. I put the beanie on and grabbed my MacBook and notebook, shoving them in my black rucksack along with my sweater. I put my phone in my pocket and grabbed my keys off the coffee table before walking out of my apartment.

As soon as I got in my car I realized that I had left my flash drive on my desk. I sighed and got out of my car, locking it as I walked back to the elevator. When I reached it, the doors slid open and I walked in, not watching where I was going, and bumped into someone.

"Sorry." The person said. I snapped my head up and looked Sawyer in the eyes.

"It's fine." I said and went to push the button to close the doors, but Sawyer stepped back inside before I had the chance.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about the way I was acting yesterday and the day before." He said. I stood in the corner, looking at the numbers above the doors that signaled what floor we were on. Sawyer sighed and hit a button that made the elevator stop.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked him.

"Trying to talk to you." He said. He moved in front of the panel of buttons, blocking them from me. "I was being a complete asshole, and I know that you're going to do you, and I should do me. I'm just trying to look out for you. I know Sam. I've seen how he operates, and for a lack of a better way to put it, he humps and dumps." At this point my mouth was wide open.

"Sawyer, I—" I started talking, but he cut me off.

"Please, just let me finish." He said and I stayed quiet. "You're such an amazing girl, and I don't want you to end up being another one of his toys. You deserve to be treated much better than that. I'd hate to see you get hurt." He moved away from the buttons and pushed one, making the elevator resume its climb to our floor. "And to answer your question I am jealous, s_o _fucking jealous that it's him and not me. But I can't change that now. Just know that I'll be here waiting for you if anything does happen and things don't work out the way you thought they would." The doors opened revealing our floor and I walked out.

"Have a nice day at work." Sawyer said before the doors closed. I walked back to my apartment and took my flash drive off my desk. I bypassed the elevator on my way out and used the stairs. Hearing Sawyer say that absolutely crushed me. What if he's right? What if Sam really is a player and just wants to use me? I'd be crushed for two reasons. The first reason would be because I didn't listen to Sawyer, and the second would be because I was naïve enough to think that Sam wouldn't be the person people said he was.

_Of course he's going to be the person people said he was. He's Sam Pepper, and you're just a girl who always ends up getting hurt. It's like hurt always finds you, doesn't it Kaya? Or do you just like being in one-sided relationships, always loving the other person whole-heartedly but the other person never loving you as much as you love them?_

I shook the evil voice in my head away and got in my car and drove to work. When I walked into the building I was greeted by Kimberley.

"Good morning Miss Sandrino." She said in her chipper tone.

"Hey Kimberley. Oh, and you can call me Kaya." I told her and she smiled. She got up from her spot behind the front desk and came over to me.

"Okay, well in that case, you can call me Kim." She said. I nodded. "I'll show you to your office. Follow me please." I followed her as she walked over to the elevator. As the doors slid open she led me inside and pressed the button for the twentieth floor.

"My office is on the twentieth floor?" I asked her.

"No, well, one of them is." She told me.

"I have two offices?" I could not believe this. Why would I have two offices?

"Technically, one's an actual office and the other one is a studio. All of the studios are on the top three floors." She told me. "Each of those floors is designed for people of different calibers. Eighteen is for interns and people looking for recording space, nineteen is for people who are just getting started in the business, and twenty is for distinguished artists and producers. Since you're already well known and very skilled, and you obviously take this business very seriously, you're on the top floor. Your office is on the twelfth floor; next to Alex's office." We stepped out of the elevator and walked towards my studio. We approached a door with a black plaque with my name in gold lettering. Kim handed me a key with a smile.

"Thank you." I said and put the key in the door and unlocked it. I opened the door and flipped the lights on and looked around. The room was huge, and it had every piece of equipment that you could have. "This is amazing."

**Sawyer's POV**

"_Wait, start over_." Tyler said and I sighed. He was the only one besides Joey that knew about how I felt towards Kaya.

"I ran into her on the elevator, got back on, and started talking to her. Stopped the elevator to continue talking to her, told her that I was sorry and that Sam only wants sex out of the relationship." I said.

"_How true is that Sawyer?_" He asked me.

"Uh very true, especially since he moved to LA. I've seen him out with so many girls it's ridiculous." I told him. He was silent for a minute before he spoke.

"_Continue._" He said.

"I then told her that she's amazing, that I care for her, and that I am jealous that she chose Sam over me." I said as I pulled into my parking spot at the apartment.

"_Wait, you told her that? By yourself?_" He asked me, shock was evident in his voice.

"Yes. And you want to know the worst thing about all this?" I asked him as I got out of my car and walked to the elevator.

_"Lay it on me."_ He said. I entered the elevator and pressed the button for my floor and leaned against the wall.

"I was going to ask her out, like on an actual date, during my meet-up." I said with a sigh. Tyler was quiet long enough for me to have to check my phone to see if the call had dropped. Nope, he was still on the other end.

_"In front of everyone?"_ He asked me.

"In front of everyone." I told him and exited the elevator.

_"Aw… My little Sawyer's growing up. I'm so proud."_ Tyler said. His voice sounded strained, almost as if he was fake crying. I put my key in the door and opened it and walked into my apartment. Joey was sitting on the couch eating breakfast while watching TV. I slipped up to my room quietly and shut the door.

"Well, she slipped through my fingers and I couldn't be more devastated." I told him and sat down on the edge of my bed.

_"What's your relationship like with her now? Is it awkward between you two?" _I ran my free hand through my hair and tugged at the roots.

"I don't know. The elevator was the first time I had seen her since we came home on Sunday. And I was being a complete dick to her the whole ride. She didn't want to look at me, and I'm pretty sure she didn't want to hear anything I had to say because she tried to interject but I didn't let her." This was all so dumb, and it was all my fault. I should've just walked away and not said anything. I should've just been okay with it and let it go as soon as I saw them together. But I didn't listen to myself; instead I let my jealousy get the better of me. I groaned and leaned back so I was lying down on my bed. "I'm so stupid."

_"Yeah. You kind of are, but it's okay. We both know what he's like. It won't last long. I give it a few months at the most before she sees that he's not all cheeky smiles and charming words." _He said. I silently agreed with him. _"Well, I have to go. But call me if you need to talk. Bye Sawyer." _He said and hung up. I removed my phone from my ear and set it on my bed next to me and let out a frustrated sigh. That drive around LA did nothing for my mind.

**Kaya's POV**

After Kim showed me my actual office, she left me to get acquainted with it. As I sat down at my desk I spun around in the chair, making sure to inspect every inch of the room. Two of the walls were a crisp white while one was completely glass and the other was a light grey color. There were three large bookshelves lining the wall across from the glass, spaced out evenly with a small table in between each bookshelf. I already knew that they would be quickly filled with copies of the same CD's I have of my work lining the bookshelf at my house, CD's by various artists, records, some books, binders, and miscellaneous knick-knacks. My desk is 'L'-shaped and in front of the grey wall and my desk chair has to be one of the most comfortable things I've ever sat on. There are two black leather chairs in front of my desk, just waiting for visitors. On the wall opposite my desk was a table with a small vase of flowers. On my desk sat a brand new Mac. I turned it on and got up from my chair while I waited for it to boot up. I walked over to the hooks on the wall and hung my rucksack on one of them. There was a knock on the half opened door and I turned as it was pushed open.

"So, how do you like the office?" Alex asked me. "I called your father and asked what you'd like and he said simple. If you don't like the grey we can change that. Or anything else really."

"It's fine. I love it, thank you." I told him. "Oh, and my studio is just… Amazing." He chuckled.

"I only get the best for the best." He said causing me to just stare at him in disbelief. I'd never really considered me the best at what I do; there are people who have way more talent than me. "No really, you're the best female in this industry that I know. Someone has to set all the men here straight and put them in their place."

"Yeah, I guess." I said. I looked at his outfit, and he was really serious about being casual. He was wearing an old band t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. He looked completely different from the last time I had seen him. "So, what's the dress code here?" I asked him as he leaned against the door frame.

"Well, Mondays and Fridays are our casual days, as you can tell by all of our attire today. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are all business formal." He told me. "But it all depends on who's in the building. Some clients are totally and one-hundred percent professional and can often be offended when they see us in casual wear, but some are carefree and would rather us wear jeans and a t-shirt. Most don't really care." I nodded as he talked, making mental notes as he went.

"Awesome. So what's my first assignment?" I asked eagerly.

"To get settled in. I won't give you your first project until you feel comfortable in your surroundings. So feel free to personalize your office and studio or walk around and introduce yourself to everyone." He told me with a smile and went to walk out of my office but poked his head back in before walking down the hallway. "Oh and there's a staff meeting in an hour." He said looking at his watch. "It's in the room that we were in for your meeting last week."

"Okay, thanks." I said. He nodded and walked down the hallway. I made my way back over to my desk and went on my computer to kill some time.

I made my way down to the conference room and entered it and noticed that no one was there, so I sat down in one of the empty chairs.

"Oh, you're here early." Alex said as he walked through the door. I nodded. "Usually when there's a meeting no one is punctual. They usually show up between ten and twenty minutes after the meeting is supposed to start."

"Doesn't that get annoying?" I asked him and he shrugged and sat down. "I've always been on time to things, if not a bit early. It's a pet peeve for me to be late."

"Well, you're working at the wrong place then." He said and laughed. "No one's _ever_ on time here. But you'll get used to it." He said. We talked until the others got there, and I learned quite a bit about him. He's not as old as I thought he was, only in his mid forties. He's married with two kids, one younger than me and one the same age. His first job was at a hotdog stand outside of a baseball stadium in Chicago, which he said was the worst job he'd ever had.

"So, Jonathon and I have been talking about a few new projects recently, and the one that we're most interested in is launching a magazine and website." Alex said and looked around the table.

"We won't be starting anything in regards to the development until Kaya is situated and made herself at home here." Jonathon told the group.

"So while we have you here, we will be telling you what your part will be in the development of the magazine." Alex said. "Andrew, you will be editing the magazine. Alicia, you will be in charge of writing about new products related to making the music, listening to the music, et cetera. Marcus and Justin, you two will be writing about performances." He went around the table telling people what they would have to do. I barely paid any attention until he came to me. "And Kaya, since you are so easy to talk to you will be our interviewer. You will sit down with artists and well, ask them questions obviously. I've already set up your first one, but I'm not giving you any details at the moment." He said. I really don't care to be left in the dark when it comes to business related things. And I'm pretty sure he could tell that by my face as a small smile crept onto his. "It'll be a surprise. I don't want you to over think it or prepare questions. You'll just have to go with the flow." He said.

I had no date, no name, and no occasion. I just knew that at some point in time I would have to interview someone and I couldn't prepare for it. I knew that waiting for me to get 'settled in' wasn't the reason why they weren't giving me my first assignment. I was already comfortable with the people here and my surroundings.

"Is this your way of initiating me into the company? Making me beg to know who I'll be interviewing?" I asked Alex as the others left the meeting. He chuckled and nodded.

"Yup." He said. "I just really want to see how you do with things that happen at a moment's notice. You should be glad that I included you in the meeting in the first place. I almost didn't, which means you wouldn't have known about your role in the magazine or the interview until the day of."

"I see your point, but can I have a hint?" I asked him and he shook his head and laughed.

"All I'm going to tell you is that they are very popular right now." He said and walked out of the conference room. That hint was very vague; 'they' could mean a guy, a girl, a band, or a solo artist. I walked back to my office to see a rather large cupcake sitting on my desk and a note next to it. I sat down behind my desk and picked up the note and unfolded it.

_Kaya,_

_I'm so proud of you for getting this job. I know how happy you were when you told me. And I know how serious you take music and how happy it makes you. I made this as a way to say congratulations, but for another reason as well. I'm so sorry for acting like a jackass. You deserve to be happy, and if Sam makes you happy than I'm happy. So let's put it past us and move forward. Come over today after work and we can hang out._

_-Sawyer_

_P.S.: Sorry if the cake sucks, I'm not really good with baking :)_

I chuckled and put the note down. At least Sawyer realized how rude he was being about this. I got up and walked around the building, trying to find the break room to get a fork. When I had no luck I went down to the front.

"Hey Kim, where's the break room?" I asked her. She looked up from her computer.

"Down that hallway and to the left." She said. "I take it you saw the massive cupcake I left on your desk?" She asked me and I nodded. "Hope that cake tastes as good as its maker looked." She said. I shook my head and laughed. I walked away from the front desk and into to break room. I rummaged around in the drawers until I came across the one that held the silverware, grabbed a fork and went back up to my office.

I took a bite out of the cupcake and put my fork down. It was chocolate, but didn't taste like it just chocolate. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted Sawyer.

**K: What kind of cake is this?**

**S: Chocolate and peanut butter… Why? Does it not taste good? Joey found the recipe.**

**K: It's good; I just couldn't pinpoint the other flavor.**

**S: Phew… I thought you were going to say it tasted bad.**

**K: Nope. It's actually really good. Maybe a bit more peanut butter next time.**

**K: Thanks for the cake.**

**S: :)**

At four I left work and headed back home, but instead of going to my apartment, I went straight to Sawyer and Joey's.

* * *

**A/N: The lyrics on Kaya's shirt are from "Teenage Dirtbag". "Teenage Dirtbag" was released in 2000 by Wheatus. I love the song sooo much and was surprised to find out that One Direction covered the song. Being a fan of both Wheatus and 1D, I think both versions are good. If you haven't heard it, I suggest listening to it (which ever version floats your boat). I often find myself humming it whilst trying, and failing, to pay attention in my History and Maths classes... Oops...**


	16. Controlling

**A/N: Whoop, time jump. **

**Football = Soccer**

* * *

-Thursday, August 15-

"Hey Alex, what's up?" I asked him as I clutched my phone between my shoulder and ear.

_"Are you coming to my football game on Sunday?" _He asked me. To be honest, I completely forgot about it. And my boss has yet to inform me of when this blasted interview is supposed to happen.

"Of course. I'm always there for your games." I told him and walked out of my room and into the living room.

_"Awesome! I can't wait. It's going to be a great game." _He said and I smiled at his enthusiasm. He's always been passionate about sports; football, or soccer, especially.

"What time is it?" I asked as I grabbed my car keys and bag.

_"It's at two. Are you gonna fly out on Friday or Saturday morning?" _He asked me.

"Um… I'm not sure yet. Probably late Friday night so I can spend some time with you guys." I told him. I just hope that there are flights back to Maryland with seats available.

_"Okay, cool. I'll tell mom and dad. I have to go, but I'll talk to you later." _He said_. "Oh, and bring some friends. Mom wants to meet them. Love you!" _He added before hanging up. I put my phone in my pocket and walked out of my apartment and down to my car.

"Hey Kaya." Joey said as I neared the elevator. I turned around to see him walking towards me, camera in hand.

"Hey Joey. Where are you going?" I asked him as I pressed the button to go down.

"Over to Tyler's to film a video. How's work?" He asked.

"Really great. I love it at Atlantic." I told him as we entered the elevator.

"What about Interscope?" He asked.

"Well, it turns out they only wanted to use my tracks and not give me credit for them, so I left." I told him. "It kind of sucked to find that out, but Atlantic has a better atmosphere and friendlier people."

"Oh, wow. That's not okay. But at least you had Atlantic to fall back on." He said and I nodded.

"Hey, do you want to come to Maryland with me this weekend? My brother has a soccer game and it's supposed to be the biggest and most competitive and he'd really like it if some of you guys would come and see it." I told him. "And my mom really wants to meet some of you too." I added.

"Of course! I've never been to Maryland! Who are you going to invite?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Well you, and Sawyer since we're back to how we were pre-Sam and Sam obviously. Maybe even Tyler." I told him. He nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure Tyler would love to go. I'll ask him when I get to his house." He said as we walked to our cars.

"Thanks. I'll let you know when we'll be leaving." I told him. As I opened the car door I stopped and turned to Joey. "And don't worry about the expenses." I told him. He opened his mouth, about to talk but I cut him off. "I'm serious. I don't want to hear anything about money."

"Are you absolutely positive?" He asked me.

"One hundred percent." I told him and gave him a warm smile before getting in my car and going to work.

"Hey, you got a few calls from a guy named Sam. He told me to tell you to call him back." Kim said as soon as I walked past her desk. "It sounded pretty important."

"Okay. Thanks." I told her and went up to my office. I opened my door and walked into my office, making sure to shut my door most of the way and plopped onto my chair and picked up the phone on my desk and dialed Sam's number. It rang for what seemed like ages before he picked up.

"Hey, what do you want to talk about?" I asked him, not bothering with a 'hello'.

_"Well good morning to you too."_ He said voice thick with sarcasm as usual. _"I can't call my girlfriend at work?"_

"Well your girlfriend wasn't at work yet." I told him. "You do know that I have a cell phone, right?"

_"Yes, I'm well aware. But you always seem to be busy with texting or talking to someone else to ever reply when I call your cell so I thought I'd call you at work."_ He said.

"Well, if you're going to call me at work at least wait until my lunch break. And call me on my direct line, not the front desk." I told him as I logged onto my computer. I really wasn't in the mood for him today. I love him, but he just gets so annoying.

_"How many times do I have to tell you to not talk to me like that?"_ He asked me and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm just saying." I told him. "Look, I'm going back home this weekend for my brother's soccer game. I wanted to know if you'd come with me."

_"Sure. Is anyone else going to tag along?"_ He asked.

"Joey, Sawyer, and maybe Tyler if he's interested." I told him.

_"Really Kaya, Sawyer? You're asking Sawyer?"_ He let out a sigh. _"I thought I told you to not talk to him."_ I scoffed.

"You can't be serious." I told him and lowered my voice, not wanting anyone to hear my conversation. "Delusional, you're fucking delusional. I can talk to whomever I want."

_"Well I don't like Sawyer, so you're not going to talk to him if you know what's best for you."_ I laughed at his statement.

"Why are you being so possessive and controlling? I'm not going to let you boss me around and tell me who I can or cannot talk to." I told him. "Let me know by tonight, Friday morning at the latest, if you will be joining Joey, Tyler, me _and Sawyer_ this weekend. Goodbye." I said and hung up. I got up from my desk and straightened out my skirt before walking down the corridor to Alex's office. I knocked on the open door and his head snapped up.

"Hey Kaya, come on in." He said with a smile. "What's up?" He asked as I sat down in one of the chairs positioned in front of his desk.

"I just wanted to ask when the interview is. And if I could have tomorrow off." I told him and looked down at my hands that were resting in my lap. "I know it's _really_ short notice, but my brother's soccer match is this weekend and I totally forgot about it and promised him that I'd be there and I don't want to disappoint hi—"

"Yes, you can have off tomorrow." Alex interrupted. "As for the interview, it's not until next week so you're all good."

"Awesome." I said as I got up from the seat. "Thank you so much. I promise that next time I'll give you at least one week's notice if I need to take off." He waved me off.

"It's fine. Just as long as it isn't on the day of whatever it is you have to be out for. Unless you're sick, that's different." He said and I nodded and went back to my office. As soon as I stepped inside my office and shut my door my phone started vibrating in my bag. I walked over to it and looked at the name that flashed across the screen.

**Sawyer Hartman:  
****_Hey. Any plans for lunch?_**

I sighed in relief, thankful that it wasn't Sam.

**K: Nope. Where do you want to go?**

**S: Chipotle?**

**K: Uh, is that even a valid question? Yes. Chipotle is fine.**

I put my phone on my desk a dove into my work. At 12:30 my phone buzzed with a text from Sawyer.

**S: I'm outside of the building.**

**K: Leaving my office now, be down in a few.**

I waved to Sawyer as I exited the building and walked over to his car. He waved back and pushed himself off of the hood and pulled me into a quick hug.

"I'm going home this weekend." I told him as I buckled my seatbelt.

"Awesome. What's the occasion?" He asked as he changed gears and pulled out of the parking lot and onto the busy LA road

"Alex has a really important soccer game on Sunday." I said as I looked out the window. "It's the last game for his summer team. I want you to come. You'd get on really well."

"I'd what?" He asked as he changed lanes, eyes glued to the road.

"You two would get along." I chuckled.

"Oh..." He said, drawing the word out for a bit. "Did you ask anyone else to go too?"

"Yeah, I asked Joey. Joey's going to ask Tyler if he want to come. And I'm not sure if Sam's going to come." I told him and picked at the hem of my skirt.

"Why aren't you sure if Sam will go or not?" He asked. As we pulled up to a red light he turned his head towards me.

"He's being difficult. That's all." I said and shrugged.

"I'd love to accompany you back to Maryland." He said with a small smile. "And I'm sure Tyler will be more than willing to tag along."

"Bye Kaya, have a nice night. Tell your brother I said good luck, and tell your father that I said hello." Alex said on his way out of the building. I nodded and returned to my work. It was past the time that I usually leave, but I wanted to make sure that I had everything that I would've had to do tomorrow done. Once I finished I shut down my computer and grabbed my bag before making my way out of the building. I stopped in the mail room before leaving to check my mailbox, which was still empty. My phone buzzed in my hand and I looked down. I had a new text from Joey.

**J: Tyler said hell yes to meeting 'Mama Sandrino' :D**

I laughed as I walked out to my car and got in and drove home. When I entered my apartment, I flicked the lights on and changed into sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter. I swiped the screen and typed in my password. The messages icon showed that I had one new message. I tapped on it and noticed Sam had sent me a text. I opened it and red.

**Sam: I'll go. **

**K: Thank you. You'll have fun. :)**

**Sam: Don't thank me. And I doubt it. But I'll try.**

**K: Whatever. I'll let you know when the flight is leaving.**

I let out an exasperated sigh and walked over to where my MacBook was sitting on my coffee table. I searched for flights for tomorrow and was thrilled when I found one that didn't leave too late; 6 o'clock. The only problem was that there were only four seats left, when I needed five. I continued to look only to find that the rest of the flights that would leave on Friday were full. I purchased the four tickets and looked for the earliest flight on Saturday morning. It would leave at six o'clock in the morning, and there was exactly one seat left. I quickly purchased that ticket. I reached for my phone and texted Tyler, Joey, and Sawyer, telling them that they should meet me at the airport at 5 o'clock so we'd have enough time to go through security and baggage. I took a deep breath as I tapped Sam's name and tapped out a message.

**K: Your plane leaves at 6 am Saturday morning. I'll give you the boarding pass info tomorrow at some point.**

**S: When are you leaving?**

**K: Tomorrow evening.**

**S: Why?**

**K: Because I want to spend some extra time with my brothers.**

Sam didn't text me back after that. I closed my MacBook and plugged it into its charger and went to bed. Hopefully this weekend goes well.

_C'mon, be real. You know it will all go downhill as soon as Sam's plane lands._ The voice in my head told me. I didn't want to believe that, so I tried to drown out the nagging voice in my head by watching some show on MTV before falling into a restless slumber.

* * *

**A/N: What do you think will happen at Kaya's house? Next update will happen ASAP. Within the next 7-10 days. Hopefully.**


	17. Rude and Disrespectful

**Italicized passages are flashbacks/dreams.**

* * *

-Friday, August 16-

_"Flight 381 to Baltimore-Washington International Airport is now boarding at gate A-17. Flight 381 to BWI is now boarding at gate A-17." _The voice rang through the bustling airport. Joey, Tyler, Sawyer, and I picked up our carry-on bags and walked over to the gate and boarded the plane. Joey sat next to Sawyer and Tyler and I sat next to each other, directly behind Sawyer and Joey.

"How long is the flight?" Sawyer turned and asked.

"About nine hours." I told him. He nodded and put his headphones in. Joey and Tyler did the same while I pulled my tattered, old copy of Hamlet out of my bag and began reading. After four hours or so, Joey, Sawyer, and Tyler were all fast asleep. I thought that was a good idea and curled up in my seat after placing my book bag in my bag and placing it beneath my chair.

_"I honestly don't understand why you care so much." I told Sam as I was packing my bag._

_"Because you're my girlfriend and he's trying to steal you away from me." He said, his voice getting louder as he spoke._

_"He's not trying to do that. If you'd take your head out of your ass long enough to realize that he knows and understands that I'm unattainable, then you'd see that he's not doing a fucking thing!" I yelled and angrily threw my clothes into my suitcase, not caring about organization or neatness. As I reached up to grab another shirt, Sam's hand grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of the closet, and pushed me against the wall. His hands were planted firmly on either side of my head. There was little to no room for me to wiggle out from under him and get away._

_"How many times do I have to tell you to not raise your voice at me?" He asked me, his voice was low and filled with anger and annoyance. I tried to push him away from me, but to no avail._

_"For the last time, you are _not_ the boss of me." I spat at him. His eyes narrowed as they pierced into mine. "Why are you like this all of a sudden? What happened to the Sam that was sweet and charming at VidCon?" He chuckled darkly. His already dark brown eyes seemed to get a few shades darker._

_"Sweetheart, you're so naïve. That was just a part of my plan to reel you in. I wanted you, and I always get what I want." _

I jolted out of my slumber, heart racing and breathing rapidly. While I hoped I would dream about rainbows and daisies, my mind had other plans, replaying the bitter half of what had happened between me and Sam before I left for the airport. While he didn't physically hurt me, his words stung and tore at my heart. I looked over at the others to find that they were still passed out. I let out a sigh of relief and sank down in my seat.

_"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now landing at BWI Airport. Thank you for flying JetBlue. Have a nice night." _The pilot said over the intercom. I nudged Tyler, Joey, and Sawyer, waking them up from their deep sleeps. We gathered our things and walked off of the plane.

"How are we getting to your house?" Tyler asked through a yawn.

"I'm driving. I told my brother to drop off a car and leave the keys with a person I know that works here." I said as I led them through the surprisingly desolate airport. We walked for a while before I stopped in front of one of the many counters littering the wall.

"Hello Kaya. It's nice to see you again." The woman behind the counter said. I smiled.

"It's nice to see you too Mary. Do you happen to have the keys Alex should've given you?" I asked and she nodded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys and handed them to me.

"Here you are." She smiled widely.

"Thank you very much. Have a nice day." I said before waving and walking away. The other three followed behind me like ducklings to the car.

"Nice car." Sawyer said as we neared it.

"Thanks. I'll tell my brother you like his car." I said as I opened the trunk and placed my small suitcase in it.

"Your brother has a Range Rover?" He asked. I nodded and lifted Tyler's suitcase in, moving to reach for Sawyer's before he smacked my hand away. "I've got it." He said. I moved away and he put it in the trunk. Joey did the same and closed the trunk.

"Shotgun!" Tyler shouted and moved to the front passenger side door. I chuckled and unlocked the car and got in.

"Are you cold or anything?" I asked as I backed out of the parking spot and weaved my way to the exit.

"A little." Joey said from the back. I adjusted a few knobs before warm air circulated through the car.

"Will anyone be up?" Tyler asked.

"Um, my brother most likely. I think my mom will be up too, to show you to your rooms and where the bathrooms and stuff are." I said as I merged onto the highway. The drive to my house was silent, except for the music that was playing at a low level. I gripped the wheel a little tighter as I pulled onto a long and winding side road that led to my house. When the car emerged from the trees, and the headlights shone on the front of my house, I could see Tyler's eyes widen and mouth open slightly from the corner of my eye. I reached my hand up and pressed a button that opened one of the garage doors and pulled in, the door closing behind us. I turned the car off and got out without saying a word.

"I've only seen the front of your house and I'm already in love." Tyler gushed as he made his way to the back of the car to help me take the luggage out.

"The front's not that great…" I said.

"Is… Is that…" Sawyer stuttered as he made his way over to my dad's car. "Is this a—"

"Lamborghini Aventador." I finished for him. His mouth agape as he took in the car in front of him.

"This is a sick car." He said. I laughed and shrugged.

"I guess. C'mon, get your stuff so we can go inside." I said with a smile as he unwillingly tore his gaze from the car and grabbed his suitcase. I closed the trunk and led them through a door and down a hallway and through another door that entered the kitchen. "You can wait in the living room. I'll be right back." I said as I jogged up the stairs and to my brother's room. I tapped on the door.

"Come in." He said. I opened the door and looked around, finally spotting him lying on his bed with his laptop on his stomach.

"Hey little brother." I said. His head snapped up and he rushed over and engulfed me in a tight hug. "Is mom up?" I asked him. He released me from his grip and shrugged.

"I dunno. She should be. She said she would wait up until you got here." He said. I nodded and exited his room and made my way down the hallway to my parents' room. I tapped on their door before entering.

"Hello sweetheart." My dad said. I waved.

"I didn't expect you to be up." I said and he chuckled.

"Yes, your mother fell asleep about an hour ago." He said. "Are your friends downstairs?"

"Yeah, they're in the living room." I said and he got up from the bed and walked over to me. We hugged briefly and went downstairs.

"And then she was like, 'you did _not_ just take the last copy!' And I was like 'oh yes I did.'" I could hear Tyler's animated voice from the top of the stairs and laughed.

"Guys this is my dad." I said.

"It is nice to meet you all. My wife has told me a lot about you all." My father said, receiving confused looks from them.

"I tell my mom everything, and she tells my dad." I clarified.

"Let me show you your rooms." He said and led them up the stairs. We all said goodnight and went to sleep.

* * *

-Saturday, August 17-

"Kaya, sweetheart wake up." Someone said as they shook my shoulder lightly. "Darling it's nearly noon." I immediately registered the voice as my mother's and slowly opened my eyes and lifted myself off the bed.

"Hey mom." I said as I hugged her.

"Come on. I made brunch." She said as she grabbed my hand and pulled me after her to the kitchen. "I haven't had to wake up since you were in high school." I nodded.

"Yeah. It's definitely been a while." I said and ran my hands through my hair before pulling it into a high ponytail. I made my way down the stairs and cursed myself for not putting shoes on as I stepped onto the cold kitchen floor. I rummaged through the fridge, looking for the orange juice.

"Looking for this?" Alex asked me, holding the carton in front of my face. I took it from him and retrieved a glass from the cabinet. "Still not a fan of being woken up against your will I see."

"Nope." I said and took a sip from the glass. I looked around the kitchen, noticing that the food my mom had said she prepared was nowhere to be found. "Where'd all the food go?" I asked Alex and he chuckled.

"You have very hungry guests. As soon as mom went to go get you they came back and raided the kitchen for the remainder of the food." He said. "There's cereal though." He smirked and I smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"I'm not really hungry anyway." I said and put my empty glass in the sink. "I need to go get ready to pick Sam up."

"Wait, who's he?" Alex asked. "You've never mentioned a Sam during our conversations, or to mom for that matter."

"He's another friend. No need to worry." I said and went back upstairs and took a quick shower. I closed the door to my room and walked over to my closet, praising myself that I didn't pack everything when I moved to LA. I put on a peach cropped t-shirt, dark denim shorts and pulled on my orange TOMS. I looked through my suitcase and pulled out an anchor necklace and clasped it around my neck. I looked at the alarm clock sitting on my nightstand and saw that it was nearing two o'clock. I grabbed my phone and walked downstairs to get the keys to Alex's car.

"Alex, where are your keys?" I yelled after searching the living room and kitchen with no luck.

"In the bowl near the door, duh." He said as he emerged from the dining room.

"Right, forgot." I said and took them from the bowl. "I'll be back." I said and walked into the garage.

"Zero to sixty in three seconds. Paddle shifters. Movable rear spoiler. Pirelli tires." My dad's voice echoed in the garage as he and Sawyer moved around the orange vehicle. "It is… what do you kids say nowadays? It is 'the shit'?" He said but sounded more like a question. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Your dad is so funny." Sawyer said. I nodded.

"Yeah, he is. I'll be back; I have to go get Sam." I said and climbed into the Range Rover and pulled out of the garage.

* * *

_"Flight 728 from Los Angeles is now landing at gate D-7. Flight 728 from Los Angeles is now landing at gate D-7."_

I got up from my spot on the bench and walked towards the gate. I stood near the exit and leaned up against the wall to wait.

"Kaya." I looked up from my phone as I heard someone say my name. I came face to face with Sam and walked over to him. His actions surprised me though, as all of his anger from the other day had vanished. He let go of his luggage and pulled me into him in the middle of the airport, hugging me tightly.

"I'm sorry." He said, his chin resting on the top of my head and one of his hands moving up and down my back.

"Um…" I started, unable to think of anything to say.

"I shouldn't have gotten so angry with you. I know what I said was out of line. I really don't know what got into me." He said and took a deep breath. "You're not just some object that I wanted to acquire, I really care about you."

"Sam, we need to talk about this. Like sit down and have a serious conversation about why you act the way you do." I told him.

"I know." He said and nodded. He titled my chin up and pressed his lips against mine. I pulled away slowly and entwined our fingers. He picked up his suitcase and we walked back to the car.

"So, just a few things you should know before we get to my house. One, my dad is hard to understand at some points due to his accent and his tendency to speak very fast. If you don't catch something he's saying don't be afraid to ask him to slow down or repeat something. Two, my mother will not hesitate to ask you about anything. And I mean anything. Three, my brother is very protective over me even though he's younger than me." I said as we pulled onto the side road leading to my house.

"Okay. Where will I be sleeping?" He asked as we pulled into the garage.

"Um… Tyler can move into my room with me and you can have his room." I said as I got out.

"Can't I just stay with you in your room?" He asked as he got his suitcase.

"I suppose." I said and led him through the house to my room. "Are you hungry?" I asked him.

"I'm a bit peckish." He said and lay down on my bed. "But I'm more tired than hungry right now."

"Okay, well I'm going to go downstairs while you take a nap." I said and went to leave my room.

"Lay with me?" Sam asked.

"Fine." I huffed and lay next to him. He pulled me closer so my head was resting on his chest and his arm was wrapped around my waist.

"I promise we can talk about everything later." He said and I nodded.

* * *

"Oi, Kaya, get up. Mum's got dinner." Alex said as he poked my side. "Seriously, get your asses down there. Mum's pissed."

"Why?" I asked and wiggled out from under Sam's arm.

"Because she didn't get to meet your other friend." He said in a high pitched voice, mocking our mom.

"Tell her we'll be down in a minute." I said and he left my room. I brushed Sam's hair off of his forehead. "I'm going to go eat dinner. You coming with me or do you want to sleep some more?" I asked.

"Can you bring me up a plate when you're done?" He asked and shifted onto his side.

"Sure." I said and climbed off the bed and went into the dining room.

"Where's your friend?" My mom asked as I sat down and set a plate in front of me.

"Still sleeping, he has really bad jetlag." I said and looked down at the plate. "Um, what is this?" I asked.

"It's vegetarian lasagna. I know it doesn't look like it, but it is." She said as she sat down. "I didn't bother getting Eli to come and make it. I wanted to try my hand at it." I noticed she was waiting for everyone to try it so I picked my fork up and took a bite.

"It's surprisingly good." I said, and it was the truth. She normally never cooks unless it's something that takes less than an hour to make.

"So, Sawyer, I hear you and my husband have gotten to know each other quite well." My mothr said in between bites.

"Yeah, we bonded over his car." Sawyer said.

"Where are you all from?" My mom asked.

"I'm from Michigan." Tyler said.

"Massachusetts." Said Joey.

"And I'm from Georgia." Sawyer said before shoveling the lasagna into his mouth.

* * *

"Sam? Are you awake?" I asked as I entered my room, plate in hand. He rolled over and rubbed his eyes.

"Thanks." He said and reached for the plate and fork.

"No problem." I said and sat down on my bed. "Is it good?" I asked and he nodded. He finished the food rather quickly and put the plate on my nightstand. He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair.

"So about Friday…" He started. "I'm really sorry."

"It's fine." I said and fiddled with the anchor charm on my necklace.

"No, it's not. I shouldn't let my jealousy get in the way. I know that you'd never do anything, and I know that Sawyer knows that we're together. But I just can't help but have this voice telling me that what I don't want to happen will happen." Sam said. "And I shouldn't have been so violent. It was uncalled for."

**Alex's POV**

"And I shouldn't have been so violent." He said whoever _he_ is. I immediately saw red. No one puts their hands on my sister. My hands balled into fists at my side and I had to keep myself from walking into her room and dragging him out of the house. She may be older than me, but she'd always be like a little porcelain statue in the hands of the giant in my eyes. She was so fragile. One wrong move and she'd crumble to pieces. This guy was the aforementioned move that would cause her to do so.

"Just promise me that you'll stop being so rude and disrespectful." She said. Her voice was filled with sadness and a bit of hope.

"I'll try. But Rome wasn't built in a day." He said. It took everything in me to keep walking past her room and into mine. The fact that he combined 'I'll try' with an overused, cliché excuse was ridiculous. I don't even know the guy and I don't like him. I flopped onto my bed and stared up at my ceiling.

"He's a sorry excuse for a human being. Putting his hands on a woman… Who does he think he is?"

* * *

**A/N: New POV... Kaya's brother Alex... In the next chapter you will get to know Alex a bit better. I'm surprised I was able to update so fast. I owe it all to my day off from school yesterday. Next update will be a while. Stay tuned! -Katy**


	18. You're on My List

**A/N: Alex's POV! Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to introduce Kaya's brother, Alexander Sandrino. Hope you like his POV and this chapter.**

* * *

To say I got a decent amount of sleep would be a huge over exaggeration. I barely got any, and whatever sleep I did get was restless. For a better part of the night I lay in my bed staring at the spinning blades of the ceiling fan with my hands clenching and unclenching at my sides. I couldn't sleep knowing that he had acted so aggressively towards my sister. If only my parents were the ones to hear their conversation and not me… He'd be on a plane back to wherever he came from faster than you could say 'jump'. I sighed and rolled onto my side and started out my window into the surrounding trees, until peaceful sleep fell over me finally.

* * *

"Wake up. You need to be at practice in two hours." My mom said as she walked into my room. I nodded and got up and followed her down to the kitchen. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the breakfast bar to eat it.

"Hey Alex." Sawyer said.

"'Sup mate. Where's Kaya? She's usually up by now." I said before bringing the spoon to my mouth.

"At breakfast with Sam." He said. Sam… I may be being a bit judgmental, but he sounds like a douche bag already.

"Oh." Was all I said and he nodded. I ate my cereal slowly and by the time I had finished, the cereal had gone all squidgy. I placed the bowl in the sink and walked down to my basement to get my football gear.

"Wait, so Kaya had blonde hair up until she was seven?" a voice asked.

"Yes, it was quite surprising to see her hair go from blonde to brown." My mom said. I walked into the living room, duffel bag in hand. "Though I do prefer her brown hair more."

"Do you remember when she dyed her hair some random color?" I asked her and she shook her head and laughed.

"Wait, what color did she dye it?" The blonde haired boy asked.

"Oh Tyler, you'll never believe me when I tell you." She said. Tyler rolled his eyes. "She died it _purple_. Of all colors, she dyed it purple." Tyler's eyes widened in shock.

"No she didn't!" He said. My mom and I both nodded. Tyler shook his head.

"Her father was absolutely livid when she came home from her friend's house. Told her that she would never be able to get a proper job with her hair that color." She said.

"Proved him wrong though. She got a job at a music store downtown." I said and picked my bag off the floor. "I'm going to go get changed."

"Okay sweetheart. Be down within the next half hour please. Don't want to be late!" I nodded and headed up to my room. I took a quick shower and got dressed. As I was putting my shin guards on my dad walked into my room.

"Ashton won't be able to make it." He said. I shrugged. It didn't surprise me. Ever since he began university he's been coming around less frequently.

"And?" I asked as I pulled my socks over the shin guards. "He hasn't come to any of my games at all this summer."

"I was just letting you know." He said. I nodded and pulled my tennis shoes on, stuffing my cleats in my bag along with my football. I got off my bed and walked down the stairs.

"Hi, I'm Joey. I don't think we've officially met." He said as soon as I entered the living room.

"Nice to meet you Joey. Alex." I said and shook his hand.

"The rest are in the garage." He said and we walked to the garage. My father and Sawyer were in his Lamborghini and my mother and Tyler were sitting patiently in my Range Rover. I placed my bag in the back and got in. Joey got in the back seat and as soon as his seatbelt was buckled, I pulled out of the driveway and drove to the nearby field.

* * *

"Well look who we have here." I mumbled to myself as I parked the car and got out. I walked to the back and grabbed my bag and locked the car. I walked over to one of the benches and set my bag down, taking my cleats out and changing into them. I looked up and watched as Kaya ran up and down the field kicking the football, maneuvering in such a way to keep the ball from Sam's possession. He was no match for her skills on the field. Kaya was one of the best footballers at her high school. She got offered numerous full-ride scholarships to play for tons of universities, but she turned them down and focused on her music. I told her she was crazy for passing those opportunities up, but she said music made her happier than football did; and she loved football to death.

I tied my shoelaces and got off the bench, took my football out of my bag and walked over to Kaya.

"Hey." I said as I dropped the ball onto the ground and propped my foot up on it. "Nice jersey." I said as I looked at her Manchester United jersey she was sporting, which happened to be mine.

"Good afternoon. Would you like to kick the ball around before your coach gets here?" She asked me and I nodded. I removed my foot from the ball and kicked it down the field. Kaya and I passed it to each other for a while before Sam spoke up.

"Can I join in?" He asked. I ignored him and kicked it back to Kaya. She nodded and kicked it to Sam, and he kicked it to me. Instead of kicking it to Sam, I continued kicking it back to Kaya. After a while I got annoyed and kicked the ball to Sam harder than I should have, almost hitting him in the face. He quickly dodged the ball, much to my disappointment.

"What the hell was that for?" He asked me and I shrugged. I haven't seen my sister in a month, give or take a few days, and all he's done since they've been here was keep her right by his side. I haven't been able to talk to my sister, alone, besides last night at dinner.

"Sorry." I muttered and jogged over to the ball. On my way over to it I passed Sam, and as I did he knocked his shoulder into mine. I clenched my fists and continued to the ball and thankfully my name was called by my coach.

"Sandrino, huddle up!" He yelled. I picked my ball up and walked over to the group. "Okay, so North Pine has been getting their man power up and quickly too. Their strikers and defenders are very quick and agile. Roscoe and Evans, you need to be on your game defending the Simmons. Sandrino, I'm counting on you as our best player to keep the ball away from the other team and score as many goals as you can." He said and I nodded. I've been to a few of Pine's games this summer, and Coach Rogers wasn't lying about the team's improvements. They were beasts on the pitch, one of the best leagues. But we were better.

"Game starts in an hour; those who need to warm up, stretch, relax, et cetera can do so." Rogers said and looked down at his clip board. I walked over to the bench my stuff was near and sat down. I looked up at the wrong time though. I saw Sam push my sister quite forcefully and stalked over to him.

"Hey!" I shouted. He didn't turn around. "Hey, asshole!" This time he turned around. I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him backwards.

"What the fuck?" He asked as his face reddened.

"Don't lay your fucking hands on my sister!" I growled. I stepped closer to him, my face mere inches from his. "If I ever hear about or see you putting your hands on my sister _ever_ again, I _will end you_. I swear to god I will not hesitate to beat the shit out of you. You have no right to touch her. You are a sorry excuse for a man—"

"Alex, stop it!" Kaya said and pulled me away from him.

"No! I'm not going to stop it, Kaya!" I said as I tried to break free of her grasp but failed miserably. For someone so small she was very strong. "I don't want you getting hurt!"

"Alex, it was a onetime thing. Everyone makes mistakes. Need I remind you of the mistakes that _you've_ made in the past?" She asked me. I shook my head. While it was hard for me to control my temper at times I'd never, in a million years, hit a woman. That was just cowardly in my eyes.

"I've never laid my hands on a girl though!" I said, defending myself. "He did, and he deserves to rot in—"

"Enough!" My mother shouted. Shit, I forgot she was here. I'm probably grounded now. "Alex, go run off your anger before you do something stupid. Now." She said and Kaya let go of me. I walked past Sam and knocked my shoulder into his with more force than he did to me earlier, causing him to stumble backwards a little.

"You're on my list." I said slowly, emphasizing each word as I walked backwards, my eyes locked with his. I turned around and began to run around the field.

"That was amusing." Sawyer said as he ran next to me. "Kind of wish you would've hit him or something." He chuckled.

"I take it you don't like him either?" I asked and slowed my pace down to a jog.

"We used to be really close. He even lived with me for a few months. But ever since VidCon he's changed." He said and turned his head to look where Sam and Kaya were kicking a ball around. "And not for the better."

"How so?" I inquired.

"He's pretty controlling. He didn't want me coming this weekend for starters. He doesn't want Kaya talking to me, or hanging out with me alone." He said.

"He's never… you know, hit her or anything, right?" I asked and looked at the ground as we jogged. I looked back up to be met with a shocked expression on Sawyer's face.

"No. Not that I know of. And she wears shorts and crop tops a lot and there aren't any marks or anything so I doubt it." He said. "But if he ever does, I'll make sure you're the first one I call for back up when I kick his ass." I laughed.

"Sounds like a plan mate." I said. "So you fancy my sister, don't you?" I asked him and he sighed.

"You have no idea." He said. He continued running with me until my coach called me over at the start of the game.

* * *

"Congratulations." The goalie from Pine said as we shook hands at the end of the game.

"Thanks mate." I said and walked over to my bag. I owe it all to the dickhead my sister's with. If it weren't for my pent up frustration towards him we probably wouldn't have won with a score of twenty-five to four. I just kept imagining his face on the ball every time I kicked it into the goal. That's a normal way to release your anger, right? Picture the persons face on an object and kick it repeatedly? Or is that just how I deal with things?

* * *

**A/N: How'd you guys like it? Do you like Alex? I know he seems like a very angry kid, but he's just looking out for his sister. **


End file.
